The Oculus Rift and VR devices like it are swiftly becoming as much a tool as a toy in the gaming industry. More and more we are seeing these devices used to explore real places, treat ailments, and change perspective. This is the case with a new experiment called “Machine to be Another”, in which the Oculus Rift swaps genders for its users. The video below details the process, but be warned, there is some nudity:

This project by BeAnotherLabs is giving users an interesting opportunity where the Oculus Rift swaps genders between the two users. Though the idea may make you uncomfortable at first, this is part of the experiment. To show people what it’s like, to some degree, to physically be the opposite sex.

This “Machine to be Another” project works fairly simply, and anyone familiar with theater exercises may recognize the technique as a “mirror exercise”. Two people of opposite sex sit back to back (a deviation from the mirror exercise where they face each other) wearing the VR headset. They then synchronize their movements allowing them to see what the person to their back is seeing in 3D real time. Via the video, it is clear that the Oculus Rift swaps genders fairly seamlessly, tricking the users brain into thinking they have a different body.

The motions are completely consensual and either party may refuse to preform an action if they like. The idea from BeAnotherLab is to use this as an opportunity for people to tell stories, and to step outside their own shoes to experience in some way what it is like to be someone else completely different. This is just a part of the project as the lab has plans to use the headset for more than just what it is like when the Oculus Rift swaps genders.

BeAnotehrLab believes they can use the Oculus Rift to teach empathy, treat and research disabilities, along with other ways that the device could bridge the gap between differences among people aside from sex. Experiments like this, and the use of VR in treating illnesses and creating new experiences are bound to become more and more common in the future. As VR continues to develop and grow into new markets we are confident that good things will continue to come from devices like the Oculus Rift.

What do you think about a project where the Oculus Rift swaps genders? Do you think this may have farther reaching benefits than we have touched on here? Sound off in the comments below!