Tag Archives: Guillotines

Guillotine Simulator using Virtual Reality

May 7th, 2013 | Brain, Robot

guillotine-16th-century

Guillotine-Simulator-1

In case you didn’t know, a guillotine is a French execution device consisting of an angled metal blade that falls on your neck and chops your head off.  For the first time, you can experience what this might be like using the most state-of-the-art virtual reality headset called Oculus Rift. The Guillotine Simulator is appropriately named Disunion.

The idea is that you can look around at the blade, the crowd of onlookers cheering on your death, and then when the executioner gives the signal, the blade is dropped, and your head rolls to the floor.  The experience is enhanced by having a friend briskly chop your neck at the moment of impact.

I would love to give this a try.

Interesting note:

“During the span of its usage, the French guillotine has gone by many names, some of which include these:

  • La Monte-à-regret (The Regretful Climb)
  • Le Rasoir National (The National Razor)
  • Le Vasistas or La Lucarne (The Fanlight)
  • La Veuve (The Widow)
  • Le Moulin à Silence (The Silent Mill)
  • Louisette or Louison (from the name of prototype designer Antoine Louis)
  • Madame La Guillotine
  • Mirabelle (from the name of Mirabeau)
  • La Bécane (The Machine)
  • Le Massicot (The Cutter)
  • La Cravate à Capet (The Necktie of Capet, Capet being Louis XVI)
  • La Raccourcisseuse Patriotique (The Patriotic Shortener)
  • La demi-lune (The Half-Moon)
  • Les Bois de Justice (Wooden Justice)
  • La Bascule à Charlot (Charlot’s Rocking-chair)
  • Le Prix Goncourt des Assassins (The Goncourt Prize for Murderers)

In other countries, it was called by other names:

  • the Halifax Gibbet (England)
  • the Scottish Maiden (Scotland)
  • Fallbeil (Germany)”

“The Machine” and “Wooden Justice” are pretty good.

-RSB