6 May 2017

Virtual memories: VR for seniors

From This Way Up, 12:50 pm on 6 May 2017
The shared experience of BettVR With Age

The shared experience of BettVR With Age Photo: (Jake Kahana)

Virtual reality technology isn't just for millennials and gamers – it could have some cool applications for older people, too.

After 18 months of production and testing, a series of VR films targeted at a very mature audience premiered at a New York senior citizen's centre recently.

The films cover areas such as travel, the arts and "the past" – vivid recreations of nightclubs and long forgotten music venues which seem to stimulate people's memories in very powerful ways.

Up to eight people can watch at the same time, wearing virtual reality headsets. 

Film director Jake Kahana was already making VR films when his granny alerted him to the full possibilities of the medium.