The first virtual reality centre in the UK – opening next month in Lincoln – will use tailor-made VR experiences to help stimulate children with special needs.

VR company Tension, which is introducing its historically-themed escape room and VR experience in June, is putting experiences for special needs kids at the heart of its operations, introducing “quiet times” for children to use the technology in a productive way.

“VR is a fantastic way of putting sensory input into children with learning difficulties such as autism or ADHD,” said Simon Adderley, managing director of Tension.

“During quiet times children with special needs can come into an environment that is much calmer, with less people about.

“They’ll be using VR tuned to their particular condition. There’s been a lot of research done in VR and stimulus for special needs children. It’s been recognised that simulation especially is a fantastic way to help these kids interact better with the real world.”

Using immersive 3D worlds as rehabilitation technology, studies have suggested VR can contribute “extremely” in enhancing the treatment, education and quality of life of children with disabilities or severe phobias.

“I personally have a special needs daughter who is autistic, dyspraxic and aspergers, and it’s remarkable how calming and sociable kids become through using the VR,” said Adderley.

“Because the environment is so immersive they seem to be really content. Based on my personal experiences and the research that’s been done, we’re going to invite children with special needs to come and try it in a very controlled way.

“We’ve been in touch with some people who are working on this because they’d like to work with us on certain programmes. I don’t know where it’s going to go but it’s certainly going to be an interesting journey.”

In addition to its work with special needs children, Tension will operate as a full attraction. The £200,000 (US$290,000, €254,000) venture – one of the first in the UK dedicated to VR – will be housed inside a former church just outside the city centre when it opens at the end of June.

Drawing on the history of Lincoln – home to one of only four surviving copies of the Magna Carta – the escape room experience will have players searching for the stolen document, looking for physical clues while answering a series of questions about the history of the city.

“The story we’re telling people is about how the Magna Carta has been stolen and the clues in the search for it are all part of the history of Lincoln,” said Adderley. “As you play the game you’re doing research, and when you walk out, not only will you have (hopefully) saved the Magna Carta, but you’ll also have learned a lot about the history of Lincoln, which is why we’re jumping on and harnessing the energy of what’s going on in Lincoln.”

The Magna Carta experience will be one of four themed rooms, with the other experiences to be revealed a later date. Upstairs will be the dedicated VR hub, where users can play games using their own personal Steam gaming platform, or try out an extensive pre-set list of games curated by Tension VR. Using the HTC Vive headset, the experience uses purpose-built rooms so they can be optimised to their full potential for the medium.

“One of the straplines will be ‘where are you going today’,” said Adderley. “It’s what they want it to be. From an educational view some people will want to take virtual tours around the world, some people will want to go into space, or they can just play games. Whatever they want to do they can do.”

2016 has been hailed as the year of VR, with the technology predicted to enjoy its first billion-dollar year, providing new opportunities to businesses that want to create more immersive experiences for their consumers. The new VR attraction is among the first in the UK, but might not be the last if it can inspire interest in heritage and the wider city of Lincoln among young people.

“Lincoln over the past five or six years has enhanced its focus on both tourism and heritage,” said Adderley. “ At the moment they’re doing a pretty polished job – the castle has been renovated, the cathedral has been developed. It’s really becoming a bit of a ‘buzzword city’.

“Hopefully when you come out of our attraction you’ll leave knowing a lot more about the wonderful city of Lincoln than you did when you came in, that's what we want to achieve.”

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