Prepare to be sick — there's now a VR water slide

Back in 2016, Six Flags Magic Mountain partnered with Samsung to introduce a VR element to its Revolution roller coaster. If you thought that was a recipe for disaster, think again as a company called Ballast has just introduced the VRSlide: a VR experience for water slides.

As you can see from the video, the VRSlide headset is a waterproof capsule that encases a Samsung Galaxy S8. The handset is running a custom piece of software that provides the VR experience. By using the Galaxy S8, the water park can utilize the phone’s built-in wireless charging functionality to make sure the headsets don’t die throughout the day.

To make sure that the VR video matches the slide’s motion and velocity, the Galaxy S8 tracks the user’s location by listening for ultrasound chirps played at distinct spots within the slide and monitor’s the person’s inertia while traveling. This type of precise tracking is needed as the rate of travel can vary from person to person based on their weight and other factors.

While in line, riders will be given a VRSlide headset and have the opportunity to choose from three different experience. As you can see from the video, these look like poorly designed virtual worlds that you might expect from an old Nintendo game.

If you’re interested in trying out VRSlide for yourself and potentially getting a major case of motion sickness, you’ll have to book a flight for Germany. At this time, this experience is only available at the Galaxy Erding Water Slide World.