DROUGHTMASTER Australia has become one of the first breed societies to create a virtual reality experience filmed in the perspective of a viewer and is set to showcase the product at Beef 2018 in May.
The society teamed with Think Digital owner and virtual reality expert Tim Gentle to create two virtual reality experiences on the properties of Droughtmaster breeders, Roger and Jenny Underwood, Pine Hills, Wallumbilla, and the McConnel family, Mt Brisbane, Esk.
The five to six minute experiences will see the viewer enjoy a day in the life of the Droughtmaster breeders, including helping to weigh sale bulls and muster cattle, all from a realistic perspective.
Mr Gentle attached a 360 camera to a Droughtmaster Australia cap allowing the virtual experience to be filmed from a human’s viewpoint.
“What we have decided to do is to push it a bit further and instead of feeling like you are watching it, you are in it,” he said.
“So everything has been taken from the point of view of the person and using the Droughtmaster cap (to film), when they put the cap on, they become part of the experience.”
It is hoped the ‘Virtual Reality Droughtmaster Cap’ could become a regular fixture and be used to showcase Droughtmaster events including the viewpoint of the auctioneer’s box during the Dorughtmaster National Bull Sale in Rockhampton.
“I actually think we see this going beyond Beef Australia,” Mr Gentle said.
“We are going to open this up to the world to experience. We will find that people from Japan and Germany will be able to join the muster.”
It comes after Elders exclusively revealed to Queensland Country Life that they had enlisted Mr Gentle to produce virtual reality experiences for pre-sale inspections of livestock and clearing sales.
Droughtmaster Australia’s CEO Neil Donaldson said their virtual reality experiences demonstrated that the society was embracing the latest technology.
“The fact that Elders are looking at ways of utilising the virtual reality for bull sales, we are following in the same vein of adopting and trialling new technology,” he said.
“(To) provide the best marketing opportunities for our members.”
Wallumbilla Droughtmaster breeder Jenny Underwood and her husband Roger featured in the experience and said it was also a way to put the country lifestyle back in their city cousin’s minds.
“It’s not just a photograph, it’s reality of what life on a station is like,” Ms Underwood said.
The Droughtmaster virtual reality experiences will be available for viewing at the breed’s Beef Australia site.
Lucy Kinbacher
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
