Rollercoasters of the future: How VR is revolutionising thrill rides

Can the intensely thrilling experience delivered by a rollercoaster be matched by a ride simulator using just a VR headset and motion platform? Thrill engineer Brendan Walker’s experiment, in collaboration with Middlesex University, UK, has been designed to answer this very question by monitoring and comparing riders’ emotional states onboard both a real ride and its simulation. Walker believes the use of this motion platform technology with virtual reality could open the door to a whole metaverse of thrill ride possibilities waiting to be imagined.⁠