Digital story time

UK – The bedtime story has been given a digital upgrade with Samsung Gear’s latest shared virtual reality (VR) experience.

• To work, the experience requires two Samsung Galaxy handsets, one Samsung Gear headset and one of its modified cardboard headsets
• The ability to share virtual experiences will push the boundaries of social networking, one of the platforms that VR is predicted to disrupt

The Most Wonderful Place to Be is the first in what will be a series of VR stories that can be shared between parent and child from different locations. The app, which is only a concept now, will enable parents and children to see and interact with each other’s avatars, giving them a sense of being in each other’s company.

Samsung has even created three versions of Google Cardboard with animated characters Jen the Penguin, Dan the Dinosaur and Jo the Robot, which make the VR experience more like play time. But the question remains whether all of that blue light before bed is detrimental to a good night’s sleep.