The world's first virtual reality birth lets dad watch from 2,500 miles away
Jace Lark 'attends' the birth of his son Steele by wearing virtual reality goggles
An Australian dad unable to be at the birth of his son in person saw it all in 3D, thanks to a virtual reality headset. Electrical engineer Jace Lark had an unavoidable work commitment that took him 2,500 miles away from home on his wife Alison's due date. Instead of being by his wife's side at the birth of their third son in Perth, Western Australia, he was in a remote mining town in Queensland – a full day's flight away.
But despite not being able to be there in person Jace was still able to witness the baby being born thanks to virtual reality. A Samsung team fitted Alison's hospital room with cameras and microphones that fed live 3D footage into a virtual reality headset set up in Jace's workplace. So as soon as the dad got the call saying Alison had gone into labour, he put on the headset and could see the birthing room and interact with his wife in real-time.
"Jace was able to see our son born and experience the birth as if he was in the room with me even though he was working away on the other side of the country," Alison said. "For me it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders knowing he would not be missing out on such a precious moment in our lives and we would virtually be experiencing the birth together."
A week later, Jace flew back to Perth to meet his son in person for the first time. Although the live-stream birth was a one-off, it might give a glimpse into what the future could hold.
Watch the full heart-warming story in the video below…
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