Meet the startup creating incredible virtual realities

We’ve been waiting two decades for virtual reality that could match our imaginations. Now that it’s finally here, we’re using it for things we never imagined, and 8i is showing us how. Founded in New Zealand, the company focuses on “volumetric virtual experiences.” That means instead of placing you inside a video game, 8i’s tech places you inside scenes from real life, perfectly rendered in photographic 3D.

The potential uses for this kind of rendering are whatever you can imagine. Teach workers in high-risk jobs how to troubleshoot without risking their lives? Sure. Teach medical students about the human body without needing cadavers? Yep.

Or how about step into a scene from your own past as if reliving a memory? 8i has figured out how to do even that, and you can watch it happen in this week’s episode.