An Australian father has watched the birth of his child using virtual reality technology from 4,000 kilometres away.

Jason Larke is a fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) electrical contractor in remote Queensland, which sees him work away from home in four-week blocks. He was expecting to miss the birth of his third child with wife Alison on Feb. 20, until Samsung asked him to be part of an experiment.

"After we found out I was five weeks pregnant with our third child, we watched our baby grow, found out he was a boy and dreamed about what the future may hold," Alison said. "Then at 30 weeks pregnant, Jace's contract roster was confirmed and it was more than likely he would miss the birth of our baby, pending a miracle."

But Jason was given a Gear VR headset and was able to experience the birth of his son in a delivery room in Perth, Western Australia, from the other side of the country. The couple's birth is the feature of a new ad for the Samsung Gear VR.