Emerging Technologies Blog

In January last year, a team of Indian surgeons broadcast a foot and ankle surgery on a patient live on the internet using Google Glass, the search giant's augmented reality device. A year later, an Australian father, who was 4,000 kilometer away from home, watched the birth of his baby boy(their third child) live using Samsung's Gear VR headset---the Korean technology juggernaut virtual reality headset. Watch the amazing video below.

   
  The father/husband Jason Larke was away in Chinchilla, Queensland on an assignment and couldn't get to see the birth of his third child in person. He had asked the company for a time-off to see that precious moment, but they turned it down. So one day they got a call from Samsung  to be involved in its ''Next Best Thing'' project. To demonstrate the potential of virtual reality to the public.

Samsung set up the whole thing, which included mounting a 360-degree camera in the room his wife was in, and he connected to the hospital, St John of God Mt Lawley Hospital in Perth,wearing the Gear VR headset in Queensland. He spoke to his wife as though he was there. Waoh!

While he couldn't hold his baby's thumb or kiss his wife in person, virtual reality is indeed  true innovation. This is what technology is all about.