Virtual flight over Villach: paragliding fun with a VR experience!

Virtual flight over Villach: paragliding fun with a VR experience!

The exhibition “GLÜCK / HAPPINESS” in the Kärnten Reliéf presents an innovative experience that immerses visitors in the world of virtual reality. The highlight of this attraction is a paragliding seat, which, in combination with VR glasses, simulates an unforgettable flight experience. The visitors take a virtual journey from the Gerlitzen over Lake Ossiach to Villach. The aerobatic pilot Norbert Winkler comments on the flight live and reveals both technical details and personal impressions. This was developed by Erik Dobat's team from Edufilm and provides an interactive experience that is part of a comprehensive technical upgrade in the Kärnten Reliéf.

Cultural advisor Gerda Sandriesser describes the new VR attraction as a perfect addition to the excursion destination and is enthusiastic about the possibilities that the technology offers. Museum director Andreas Kuchler also praises the concept, which not only entertains but also combines education and experience. Visitors now have the opportunity to experience the feeling of paragliding up close, without the safety risks of a real flight.

Virtual reality in aviation

In parallel to this development, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is investigating the use of virtual reality (VR) in aircraft cabins. A test run took place on March 3, 2023, during which 130 passengers took part in a city tour in the DLR Air Vehicle Simulator (AVES). The aim of this initiative, which goes under the project name InDiCaD (Innovative Digital Cabin Design), is to make long-haul flights more pleasant and to modernize passenger cabins. Two thirds of the participants said they saw clear added value in using VR and would like to use such technologies in the future.

The study results show that VR improves travelers' well-being by creating greater immersion than traditional screens. The use of VR glasses could also promote individual seating designs and enable an outside view, which is particularly important for future aircraft concepts without windows. These technologies could reduce negative effects such as lack of space and noise, as well as help relax and reduce fear of flying.

The future of tourism

The integration of VR and augmented reality (AR) is not only a trend in aviation, but is also revolutionizing tourism as a whole. These technologies create sustainable travel experiences and enable people to travel, communicate, and attend cultural events in the metaverse. VR is increasingly being used to give travelers a taste of their travels with 360-degree images and videos. For example, the city of Seoul plans to become the first city in the metaverse in the next decade.

The metaverse opens up new opportunities for tourism and is seen as a complement to real travel. VR has the potential to stimulate the desire to travel and provide inspiration, while AR provides additional information about sights. An example of this is the LIMES mobile app, which helps users to explore the Roman world heritage on the Bavarian Danube Limes. Such technologies make it possible to combine real and virtual experiences and offer tourists a new level of interactivity.

Developments in the field of virtual reality are promising and show that both transport and tourist experiences can be enriched through innovative technologies.