New VR Headset Can Literally Kill Player If They Die In The Game

Virtual reality is all the rage now and VR headsets are touted to be the future, which wouldn't be surprising considering the time and money invested in making the experience as realistic as possible. Well, the meaning of "virtual" may have to be redefined in the context of a newly invented device -- a VR headset that can, quite literally, kill the person wearing it.

Palmer Luckey, known as the father of modern virtual reality, has created a new VR headset that can end a player's life in actual reality if their character dies in the game, Vice reported. This might seem like something straight out of a big-budget sci-fi movie, but it's true.

The headset "bombards the player's brain with extraordinarily powerful microwaves" if their character in the game dies, the creator revealed.

Luckey shared in a blog that the headset, named "NerveGear", is capable of perfectly causing real-life death using a direct neural interface. The device contains three explosive charge modules which are present exactly above the screen. These charges when aimed at the user's brain and kill them in an instant, he wrote.

For obvious reasons, the headset is not available commercially.

Luckey became popular as the founder of Oculus, which was bought in 2014 by Facebook for a whopping $2 billion.

The new headset was created to commemorate the anime "Sword Art Online" (SAO) which is based on the novel of the same name, Luckey shared.

Players in the virtual reality of this game wear the NerveGear headset and attempt to escape a mad scientist's lair by making it out through as many as 100 floors. The headset kills them if they fail to make it out safely in the game.

SAO is credited with making virtual reality hugely popular in Japan.

Talking about the game, Luckey shared, "Pumped-up graphics might make a game look more real, but only the threat of serious consequences can make a game feel real to you and every other person in the game.

"This is an area of videogame mechanics that has never been explored, despite the long history of real-world sports revolving around similar stakes. In SAO, the NerveGear contained a microwave emitter that could be overdriven to lethal levels, something the creator was able to hide from his employees," he continued.

However, the microwave emitter could not be replicated in real life, and hence, Luckey decided to attach explosive charges to the headset which achieve the same effect.

Luckey also reportedly shared that he wants to continue experimenting with the technology that can power headsets like these, along with exploring the possibility of developing an anti-tampering model to make the devices immune to destruction.