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Visually Impaired 93-Year-Old Woman Tries VR For The First Time And The Experience Left Her Crying
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Visually Impaired 93-Year-Old Woman Tries VR For The First Time And The Experience Left Her Crying

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Nowadays, there are plenty of people who say that technology is evil and is a source of people unhappiness. Although there might be some truth to their words, there are plenty of examples where technology helps people, from simple everyday tasks to accomplishing serious challenges and overcoming life-threatening burdens. A couple of days ago, a VR concierge and experience designer, Joel Lueders shared a story that definitely serves as a reminder that technology can do good.

Virtual reality (or VR) is an interactive experience in virtual reality, where people are placed in various scenarios, often games or virtual environments, with the help of a computer. The VR scene has been rapidly expanding, within the gaming industry, as well as real-life – VR cafes have been popping up across the world.

“I’m a veteran of the Minnesota Army National Guard who has been working in tech as a UX designer making websites more enjoyable. I thought of VR as a fad, then a year ago I tried out an HTC Vive at a design conference. I was blown away. My hands were shaking. In my gut, I felt like I was really there” Joel told Bored Panda about how he started his venture into the world of VR. “Now, I just want as many people as possible to put an HTC Vive Pro (or Oculus Rift) on their heads. Everyone responds positively. In VR people become children again. I’ve become a VR True Believer” he added.

Joel works as a VR concierge for REM5 Virtual Reality Laboratory in St Louis Park, Minnesota. REM5 is a place where people can play, explore, learn and create in VR. The man shared a story of a granddaughter who brought her 93-year-old grandma with macular degeneration to REM5 to experience VR. “The grand daughter and her coworkers came to REM5 for happy hour two days before. When she came back she said, “I’ve been talking nonstop about this ever since and wanted to show my dad, also my grandma was in town, so we brought her along. She’s 93 and doesn’t see anything except in her periphery. Do you think she should try it?” Previously our oldest client was 89 and had loved it. so I said, “let’s find out!” Joel explained.

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Joel shared his thoughts on the experience with us, saying that none of them expected it to go that well. “None of us had expected it to restore her vision. It seems a little more obvious now. You have super hd screens an inch from your eyes. Now after all this I’ve […] done some googling and there are a lot of people who’ve been using VR as a way for improving sight” he explained.

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Although the woman had visual impairment and had trouble seeing in real life, in VR she could see clearly. “I haven’t seen colors like that in years.” she was reported saying after the experience. “I can’t stress enough how little I did in this story. I basically put a big hat on a lady’s head and clicked a mouse, but the results… Man, the results were exponential. A magical moment she and her family will remember forever. And anyone with access to quality VR equipment can do this.” Lueders concluded with an encouragement for people to try VR themselves.

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    Giedrė Vaičiulaitytė

    Giedrė Vaičiulaitytė

    Author, Community member

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    As a writer and image editor for Bored Panda, Giedrė crafts posts on many different topics to push them to their potential. She's also glad that her Bachelor’s degree in English Philology didn’t go to waste (although collecting dust in the attic could also be considered an achievement of aesthetic value!) Giedrė is an avid fan of cats, photography, and mysteries, and a keen observer of the Internet culture which is what she is most excited to write about. Since she's embarked on her journalistic endeavor, Giedrė has over 600 articles under her belt and hopes for twice as much (fingers crossed - half of them are about cats).

    Read less »
    Giedrė Vaičiulaitytė

    Giedrė Vaičiulaitytė

    Author, Community member

    As a writer and image editor for Bored Panda, Giedrė crafts posts on many different topics to push them to their potential. She's also glad that her Bachelor’s degree in English Philology didn’t go to waste (although collecting dust in the attic could also be considered an achievement of aesthetic value!) Giedrė is an avid fan of cats, photography, and mysteries, and a keen observer of the Internet culture which is what she is most excited to write about. Since she's embarked on her journalistic endeavor, Giedrė has over 600 articles under her belt and hopes for twice as much (fingers crossed - half of them are about cats).

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    Sloth
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is amazing! I hope Joel continues this (it would be great if it was available in many places) and that this women gets to see more.

    Night Owl
    Community Member
    5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is amazing. I would be great to have in ophthalmology clinics so people with vision problems could try it out and see (no pun intended) if it works for them. Also in hospices, in hospitals (also for patients who have to longer stay there), in group homes for seniors/elderly, ...

    firlee
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Really a nice post of the day and i would like to clap for this post. http://bit.ly/2mnfhpr

    Load More Replies...
    Daniel Brown
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    this has got to be the best thing for her if you guys don't know my family eye doctor was bored with low depth perception in his eye's and so he tried to use a mirror like glasses but that so high lenzes it made him fully blind but with Vr he is able to see fine now...

    firlee
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Really a nice post of the day and i would like to clap for this post. http://bit.ly/2mnfhpr

    Load More Replies...
    Load More Comments
    Sloth
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is amazing! I hope Joel continues this (it would be great if it was available in many places) and that this women gets to see more.

    Night Owl
    Community Member
    5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is amazing. I would be great to have in ophthalmology clinics so people with vision problems could try it out and see (no pun intended) if it works for them. Also in hospices, in hospitals (also for patients who have to longer stay there), in group homes for seniors/elderly, ...

    firlee
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Really a nice post of the day and i would like to clap for this post. http://bit.ly/2mnfhpr

    Load More Replies...
    Daniel Brown
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    this has got to be the best thing for her if you guys don't know my family eye doctor was bored with low depth perception in his eye's and so he tried to use a mirror like glasses but that so high lenzes it made him fully blind but with Vr he is able to see fine now...

    firlee
    Community Member
    5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Really a nice post of the day and i would like to clap for this post. http://bit.ly/2mnfhpr

    Load More Replies...
    Load More Comments
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