Virtual Reality On Planes Could Calm Fears Of Flying

I never flew on a plane until I was around 23 years old. One reason was I never went anywhere that I needed to fly to, but another reason was because I was slightly afraid of it. Something about a metal object that weighs a ton hanging out above the clouds didn’t appeal too much to me, and so I stayed grounded. For a long time. But then, when a college class required I fly to New York City twice during a semester, there was no getting around it. A good friend of mine who sat beside me insisted I take his window seat, and I begrudgingly obliged. Once the plane finally took off and I was able to look down from above at the tiny world below, my nerves settled themselves. And then, once we were among the clouds, I thought it was insanely beautiful. I’ve not been afraid to fly since. Other people aren’t so lucky – some people really have a legitimate fear of flying, and taking in the view does nothing to calm them down. But when paying attention to reality fails, immersing yourself in a virtual reality might just do the trick.

That’s the idea a company known as Airbus has, anyway. They are hard at work creating virtual reality headsets that will (ideally) allow passengers to completely forget they’re onboard an airplane. They picture dome-shaped headrests on the plane equipped with headphones, as well as visors that will come down to go over their eyes, effectively taking them to another place.

Even though I don’t mind flying now, I wouldn’t mind using virtual reality while in the air either, especially on one of those longer flights.

What do you think? Would you like to see virtual reality on airplanes? Let us know your thoughts regarding this story in the comments section below!

[Image via MindfulRevolution]

SOURCE: Yahoo