Part1
It seems so wired that today’s Virtual Reality technologies are built upon ideas that date back to the 1800s when the first Stereoscope, using twin mirrors to project a single image was invented. Since then VR technology has made a lot of stunning improvements. Especially, during the last six decades, pioneering inventors paved the way for the low-cost, high-quality devices that VR uses nowadays.
Nobody could have imaginedVR’s magical journey back in 1968 when the first VR head-mounted display (HMD) system was invented by scientist Ivan Sutherland and his student Bob Sproull. Some years later, mid-1980s, the term “Virtual Reality” was born by Jaron Lanier, founder of VPL Research, who developed the gear, including goggles and gloves, needed to experience what he called “virtual reality.”
Undoubtedly, a crucial phase for Virtual Reality was the decade 1970-1980. Optical advances ran parallel to projects that worked on haptic devices and other instruments that would allow us to move around in the virtual space.
Virtual Reality’s Milestones
1838: Invention of the first Stereoscope, using twin mirrors to project a single image.
1939: Stereoscope’s development into the View-Master. Patent and production till today.
1956: Sensorama, invented by Morton Heilig. The Sensorama experience simulated a real city environment of “riding” on a motorcycle. It let you see the road, hear the engine, feel the vibration, and smell. Morton Heilig’s background was in the Hollywood motion picture industry. He wanted to see how people could feel like they were “in” the movie.
1960: Telesphere Mask, a head-mounted display device, patented also by Morton Heilig.
1965: The Ultimate Display, invented by Ivan Sutherland. It was a head-mounted device that he suggested would serve as a “window into a virtual world.”
1970-1980: In the mid-1980s, the Virtual Interface Environment Workstation (VIEW) system at NASA Ames Research Center combined a head-mounted device with gloves to enable haptic interaction.
The years that followed after 1980 will shape the future of VR and shortly anyone could come on VR’s magical board!
Oculus Quest 2, VR headset. Source: https://www.oculus.com/quest-2/
