Opening of Rainbow Air Tourism Center & “Niagara Virtual”
Image of game content: Courtesy of Frontgrid
(eap) On the U.S. side of the Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, New York, helicopter tour operator Rainbow Air has opened its own tourism center. In addition to a helicopter launch pad, a museum, and a souvenir shop, the new facility also offers a virtual reality (VR) attraction: “Niagara Virtual” allows visitors to take a virtual flight over Niagara Falls and the surrounding region. Guests can choose whether they simply wish to enjoy the view or engage in a competitive, point-based game mode.
The attraction begins with a 360-degree film, recorded from a real helicopter flying over the waterfalls, which transitions seamlessly into the interactive VR experience. Guests then “glide” over a 3D landscape created from satellite data and real-world models.
Image: Courtesy of Frontgrid
“It is truly magnificent seeing Niagara Falls from the air. You really get a sense of scale and can appreciate the vastness of the volume of water as well as the journey the river takes through the wider landscape, where it comes from and where it goes to. We’ve been taking visitors to see the falls, from above, in a helicopter for 30 years now, and we love giving people, what they always say is, the highlight of their stay at the Falls. Now, we are excited to be launching this VR experience as a new, gamified way of exploring and connecting with the land and cityscape,” emphasizes Anna Pierce, VP of Rainbow Air Helicopter Tours.
“Niagara Virtual” was developed by the UK-based company Frontgrid, which supplied eleven units of its motion-based VR system “Paradrop VR™ Rize 4” for the project. “Blending immersive virtual reality, gamification, and motion-based engineering, the experience gives guests a chance to explore Niagara Falls from a whole new perspective […]” says Tammy Owens, Business Development Director and Producer for Frontgrid. ■
