Video game headset makes campus tours virtual reality

Want to visit the campus of a premier French business school without buying an expensive plane ticket? Thanks to a virtual reality headset inspired by video game technology you can now do just that.

Audencia Nantes School of Management in France is giving potential students the opportunity to stroll around its campus like in real life without having to travel to France. Working with specialist firm YouVisit, the school is using the Oculus Rift Development Kit to turn a virtual campus tour into virtual reality.

Together with a handful of other international schools, Audencia Nantes is one of the first in the world to place its faith in use of the Oculus Rift with YouVisit's software. The success of the trail has convinced the school to invest in the technology for a fall recruitment campaign. Students can test the headsets in their home countries at any education fair where Audencia will be present.

Founded by three former students who came up against the problem of getting to know a campus when living thousands of miles away, YouVisit already provided virtual walking tours to about 1000 schools and universities. The firm hopes that the total immersion provided by the Oculus Rift will take their services to a new level.

The virtual tour will not only include the school itself but also the main landmarks of the city in which the school is located i.e. Nantes. Nantes is a student city and it is important to show students how life can be there. This should help the students to make an informed choice when considering programs.