Australian father uses Samsung Gear VR to watch son’s birth from 4000km away

Samsung over the weekend announced that it had facilitated what it claims is the world's first "live streaming virtual reality birth". Using the Samsung Gear VR headset, Jason Larke was able to watch his Perth-based wife, Alison, give birth to his son in real time, despite a distance of 4,000km between them. Samsung says Jason, a fly-in-fly-out contractor, had an "unavoidable work commitment" that required him to be in Queensland on his baby's due date.

"As one of the leaders in technology innovation, Samsung wanted to demonstrate the potential of virtual reality and how this unique technology can address real challenges people face every day," said Arno Lenoir, Samsung Australia's Chief Marketing Officer. "Through Alison and Jason’s story, we’re excited to be able to demonstrate how technology can help tackle the tyranny of distance and bring our loved ones closer."

Alison and Jason became involved in the project when Alison saw a casting call looking for a couple who couldn't be together for a momentous occasion. The casting call was put out towards the end of January, and Alison and Jason's baby was born on February 20th. 

Samsung produced a short documentary of Jason and Alison's story, which can be watched below.