Clock still ticking for successful launch in Dubai

The Life: Companies in the entertainment industry may be able to boost business with the Orion: a high-tech 5D simulator that takes visitors on quite the ride.

The Orion 5D simulator. Courtesy Blazon Communications

A newfangled 5D simulator known as the Orion recently had its global launch at the Dubai Entertainment, Amusement and Leisure Show.

If you have no idea what the €69,900 (Dh370,385) contraption does, you're probably not alone.

This interactive ride is designed as a spaceship with four seats built inside. The capsule features a 3D screen, where viewers can watch intergalactic scenes through special liquid crystal display shutter glasses, as well as a platform that can incline between 20 and 40 degrees.

Since audience members can control individual joysticks on their seats, they are able to dive deeper into virtual games by controlling the craft's weapons, taking pictures of interesting objects on the screen and answering various questions in a quiz. A winner then gets determined based on points accumulated for hitting certain targets or coming in first during a virtual space race.

While it certainly sounds engaging, who on earth is going to want to buy one of these? Trans-Force, the manufacturer, says it is targeting the leisure industry in the Middle East, with potential clients including water or theme parks, shopping malls, museums and zoos.

The company also contends the Orion offers a "profitable business opportunity" that has been developed to offer a quick return on an investment for start-ups as well as established venues in the entertainment industry.

If businesses are able to attract about 2,000 guests a month, the Orion could conceivably bring in about US$14,000 (Dh51,420) in revenue during that time and earn a return on their investment within a year, the company says.

Already, the Orion has been installed in more than 40 malls and other venues throughout Russia, as well as Ukraine, Finland and Indonesia. Only the future will tell whether it blasts off in popularity in the UAE or elsewhere in the Middle East.