Samsung is bringing virtual reality to the world of bedtime stories with a prototype app that enables parents to "read" a virtual story to their kids even if they're away from home.

The Bedtime VR Stories app, developed by BBH and production company Unit9, will let parents and children can see and interact with each other, using a combination of virtual reality and VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) for an immersive, shared experience. Created on the back of the insight that one third of parents cannot be there with their kids to read them a bedtime story, it's currently being case tested with families in the U.K.

Via Gear VR headsets, the technology allows kids to hear their parent reciting the story and lets them interact with their parent as though they are in the same room. The story itself sees the parent and child transported to a fantastical world guided by three characters. First stop is the Arctic, in the company of Jen the Penguin. Next, Dan the Dinosaur takes us to meet the rest of his family in a pre-historic world. Finally, they fly into outer space with Robot Jo, for a musical finale.