"This is as big an opportunity as the Internet"

But it’s not the military, or even games, which might be the most effective users of VR. One can imagine scores of scenarios where it would be transformative. Planning your next holiday? Why not “visit” the alternatives first, via a headset? Games, exploration, psychiatry and many other fields could all be revolutionised. “Sex, of course,” says Stone. “We’ve seen some crazy devices coming out of Japan.” He points to healthcare, education and training as other fields that are most likely to take it up quickly.

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Facebook’s purchase of Oculus, though, suggests that it sees the capability to transform how we interact with friends – which is what Waldern is thinking of when he talks about it potentially being bigger than the internet.

“Even back at the start, the biggest kick we got was when we used ISDN lines between Berlin and London, and we linked players up in a game. It was amazing: you could meet, play, talk with people. Now, games have been doing that virtually for a while. But when you can feel you’re really meeting someone, right there, as a jolly alien or Robin Hood …” He stretches for the words. “Immersivity is the main thing. This has many years to run, and we have to get to where we are totally convinced – but we’re looking at something which has transformational capability for society.”

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