Robotic bartender that pours 80 drinks per hour to join Grand Central virtual reality experience Sandbox VR

Bullring & Grand Central will be host to an amazing virtual reality experience from this summer.

The world’s most advanced virtual reality experience, Sandbox VR, is set to open at the shopping mecca in Birmingham. Sandbox VR will be taking up a 13,000sq ft unit in the Grand Central mall making it the brand’s third location in Europe and first outside of London.

Not only will it bring group virtual reality gameplay and competitive socialising but also the brand’s much-loved robotic bartender ‘Toni’ - who can pour 80 drinks per hour. He will add to the unique experience.

Sandbox VR will create a truly immersive experience within exclusively designed interactive worlds, making players feel like they are living inside a game or a movie.

“It is powered by a new generation of Hollywood motion capture cameras, 3D precision full-body trackers, custom hardware and haptic feedback suits, enhancing the touch, vibration, and motion senses for the user.

What the companies said

Dan Murphy, General Manager at Bullring & Grand Central, said: “What a great way to start the New Year! We’re thrilled to welcome Sandbox VR to our growing line-up of experiential destinations at Bullring & Grand Central as the centre quickly becomes a new entertainment hub for the city. This is just the first of many new concepts we have lined up for 2023.”

Jake Wilmot-Sitwell, Co-Founder and COO at Sandbox VR UK & Ireland, commented: “Following our successful launch in Covent Garden last year, we wanted to kick off our expansion across the UK and Ireland by launching the biggest ever Sandbox VR site in the UK’s second city.

“As the West Midlands’ best-connected retail and leisure destination, Bullring & Grand Central is the ideal location to launch our second UK site, and we are eager to bring our mind-expanding adventures to this amazing market.”

What more is coming to Bullring & Grand Central in 2023?

Boutique bowling brand, Lane7, and the world’s first interactive football experience, TOCA Social, complementing the ever popular Treetop Adventure Golf will be opening its doors in 2023. The much-anticipated Marks & Spencer, JD Sports and Tessuti stores will also open this year as well.

The announcement comes after Hammerson recently announced its vision to transform the former department store at Grand Central into 200,000 sq ft of wellbeing-designed offices with provision for new restaurant, leisure and wellbeing space.