The Idea
Giving sick children and adults the experience of VR to take them in to the world of virtual reality which means they can experience being outside the hospital for a while. This also applies for elderly homes, so elderly people that are forced to stay inside due to mobility issues experience the virtual world outside the elderly home.
Story
Our grandma turned 90 last January. And in the last few years she moved from living alone to a supported living home and recently to a elderly home where they take care of her. This due to dementia. She is having a hard time remembering things on a short period and has mobility issues. The only trips she nowadays makes is to the supermarket and back which is about 200 meters away from the elderly home. A few months ago we took her from the elderly home to our house to celebrate a birthday. While drinking coffee we showed her a virtual reality headset. We told her that she could be in any place or do anything while wearing those. So after some hesitation she wanted to try it, and she loved hit. We gave her the experience of being in a rollercoaster, let her fly in a plane and we showed her the place she used to live before she moved away to the elderly home. This was a wonderful experience for her and she loved every minute of it. That’s what made us think and wonder if this would be something other elderly people would like too. So we started putting our idea on paper. Later we were thinking; why only elderly people? Why not let everyone, that is bound to one place experience VR to go "outside"?
Summary
By using VR ready computers and HTC Vive VR headsets we want to give children and adults that are in the hospital for a long time the experience to go “outside” using VR. Some children and adults are forced to stay inside the hospital for weeks, sometimes months and in extreme cases for years, sadly for some it also means they cannot leave their bed. Some elderly people are forced to live inside an elderly home for years. Due to mobility issues and sometimes sanity issues they mean they don’t get much further than a walk outside in a wheelchair or with a rollator or sometimes they must stay within the elderly home. Which means they´re world is small. With the possibilities of VR, it will be possible for those people that are forced to stay in a small world because of health or age problems to get out and discover a new world the world of Virtual reality. Virtual reality is a fairly new concept in gaming and is greatly developing. Each year there are tons of games, mini games and simulators that are being released. With this big range of VR experiences there is enough choice for everyone’s taste. Some might think it is fun to drive a racecar in VR, others might want to fly in a fly simulator and then there are also people that just want to feel they are in a rollercoaster. The possibilities are huge. And there is bound to be something for every child, adult and elder to experience something that will make them forget they are in the hospital or elderly home. It has been proven that playing games are also pain relieving which could be very nice for sick people too.
What do we need?
- 2 VR ready Desktops
- 2 HTC Vive VR Headsets
- 2 Computer Monitors
- A wide range of different simulators/games
- A transport van
Why do we need that?
- 2 VR ready desktops? We need desktops to make VR work. We are aware that there are consoles supporting VR as well. The reason we choose for desktops is that it has more VR supported games. At the moment Steam offers over 600 VR games and experiences compared to +/- 250 console VR games and experiences.
- 2 HTC Vive VR headsets? This is because this is the most supported VR headset on PC. And it delivers good quality.
- 2 computer monitors? In order to work properly and being able to setup the VR headset we need to be able to navigate through the PC using the monitors. Also, it will allow people that can’t use VR to play on a monitor instead.
- A website? We need a website to make our company open to the public and make it possible for hospitals and elderly homes to book us. And it will also be a great way to provide information about us.
- A wide range of games/simulators? To provide an VR experience, we need games/simulators to do so. And we need a wide range of different genres of genres to suit everyone´s taste.
- A transport van? If we want to deliver the VR experience to Hospitals and Elderly homes we need to transport all the equipment from point A to B.
Future plans
Hiring extra personnel and buy extra equipment so we can deliver our experience at more places than one. Because we are Dutch we will introduce our project in the Netherlands, western-Germany and Belgium. In the future, we are hoping we will be able to hire more personnel to represent the project in other countries of western Europe and North-America. If possible and the project becomes a success, we are willing to expand worldwide. Next to offering the VR experience to hospitals and elderly homes we would like to offer the VR experience for private rental or exhibitions too.
Where will we spend the money on?
- Desktops +/- €2000,- each (€4000,-)
- HTC Vive VR €800,- each (1600,-)
- 2 computer monitors €300,-
- Website €100,-
-Wide range of games/simulators €500,-
- Used transport van €3000,-
- Additional costs/unexpected costs €1000,-
Total: €10.500,-
Rewards for donators:
All donators: Occasional mail with progress and user experiences
- €10,- and up: Special thanks with your name on our website
- €25,- and up: Personal Thank you postcard
- €50,- and up: "Proud OutsideVR supporter" sticker
- €75,- and up: Mug with OutsideVR logo
- €100,- and up: Mousemat with OutsideVR logo
- €150,- and up: A backpack with OutsideVR logo
- €250,- and up: Special thanks with name on OutsideVR company transport van.
Of course every donation is welcome and we are very thankful for the supporters! Due to the idea of the company we don't have much offer in return. Thats why we want to offer you different OutsideVR products and show our gratitude by giving you a special place with special thanks on our website. And we will show our gratitude by mentioning our supporters when we are giving people the OutsideVR experience. And we are sure that making other people happy will give you a good feeling.
The name and logo of the company is not yet confirmed, and can be changed at a later time.