8 Ways Virtual Reality Will Make Life Worth Living

8. Augmented Gym Sessions

Ignoring the fact that, yes, you'd have to wear a VR headset €“ which, to date, remain cumbersome and wire-dependent €“ it's a very real possibility that gymnasium languor (and, with it, obesity problems the world over) could be solved simply with some nifty VR graphics that turn a skinny arm into a bulging bicep. HTC's Vive Pre €“ an updated version of its Vive headset €“ features a front-facing camera that will allow objects to be ported into programs on the platform. With some elaborate overlays and sufficiently convincing skin tone matching, this is one cool trick that really could get you a beach-ready body in, well, seconds. Of course, the potential problem remains that, believing you've achieved statue-like abdominal perfection, you might just sit down with a bag of donuts and eat yourself to a life of misery €“ virtual or not. To counter this, holographic headwear needs to channel the classic childhood game of "the floor's made of lava", with the addition of some very real graphics. You'd definitely move more quickly if your limbs were singeing, right? Or, imagine: you're not lifting a barbell but a ruddy great log. That's not a rack you're leg-pressing but a bus full of children €“ and you're the hero. Forget tricep extensions: you're ringing the bells of Notre Dame! And you're looking great doing it. Well, you can't see anyone else because they're not included in your VR fantasy. But let's not talk about that.