FIVE VR SAFETY TIPS TO STOP YOU FROM RUINING YOUR HOME

The new year is here already, and while some of us have gotten back to work and started to live it like every other day, some of you lucky ducks are on holidays still. While some on holidays are just taking the time out to sleep day and night, others are just using the time to get in touch with their new toys, and we think the luckiest of you all are those that got VR-themed presents. However, on social media, there has been a new wave which has been detailing the crazy things that VR has made people do. Some have been trying to play a game and have smashed into their TVs instead. Others have reported hitting a family member, unknowingly, and some others have reported punching holes into walls in the heat of the moment.

While virtual reality is interesting, you need to make sure you don’t destroy your real home in the course of enjoying yourself in the virtual world. You can’t always live in the virtual, and we are about to help you get your game on better while preserving your abode in the same vein. How best do you enjoy your virtual reality without sending your home into shambles?

1 SET SOME LIMITS

The most popular VR headsets out there have to be the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. Both if these come with support for setting a virtual boundary for yourself before you start to play a game, so that you are not allowed out of those limits to the extent where you would cause some real damage. However, people make the mistake of settings the boundaries too close to the edges that they want to avoid, which should not be so.

The next time you want to play a game with your VR headset, and you are asked to set a boundary, pick a dimension of space that is at least, one or two extra feet away from your furniture or household equipment in all directions. This would ensure that even if the gameplay clouds your sense of state, you would not have stepped out of the boundary too much to cause any damages.

2 WARN FIRST, ENJOY VR NEXT

It might sound funny, but as we have stated above, we have hard cases of family members accidentally slapping or smacking themselves when they were in the VR realm. Many tweets have even shown up to this respect online, and it doesn’t seem to be going down soon if care is not taken. It is especially important that we guard against this kind of occurrence because you never can tell when it would be a toddler or pet around, and you crash into them.

Before you enter the VR realm and begin to enjoy the experience, it might help to inform those around you that you are about to get ‘under the influence.’ If you happen to stay alone, put a note on the door that tells anyone coming in that you can neither hear nor see them with your headset on.

3 DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE

If you thought that they were joking when they made this kind of regulation for drivers, don’t think we are joking here. In the world of virtual reality, you are also a driver – a driver of your experience – and we advise against drinking and driving too. While it might look like a good option at the time to get tipsy and then delve into the virtual realm alone or with friends, you might be waking yourself up for a whole load of pain. VR requires you to be balanced and aware with all of your senses and being destabilized when going under could just be your greatest undoing.

4 HAVE A SEAT, PLEASE

Most of the accidents that happen to people when using the VR technology is usually due to the user standing when interacting with the computer. While there are long-term health benefits to standing, and having your VR exercise in this position, it would also be a dangerous venture if you are not able to stick to all we have been talking about. If you feel that you cannot totally take to all of the above points, we advise that you sit on a nice chair, sofa, or even the floor before you commence your VR experience. While this is not risk-proof in all ramifications, it ensures that you at least don’t get slammed into walls, bookshelves, etc.

5 KEEP A FIRM GRIP

There are wrist loops shipping with the HTC Vive and Oculus Touch which ensure that the controllers are attached to your body throughout the VR experience. This would ensure that you don’t lose the controller or nail it against a family member or wall when you feel you are swinging a sword, throwing a stone or grenade. This might sound like the least important of the points, but if you have been in the VR world enough, you would know that the laws of physics (or lack thereof) in there can make an impression on your mind in the real world. This could make you forget that your expensive controller is not the same stone in the VR world.