It is a common misconception that Virtual Reality has been a concept exclusively for the realm of science fiction, until the onset of the 21st century, where the Oculus Rift, among others, allowed VR to become a reality. However, by its truest definition, virtual reality has been around since the middle of the 19th century.
1838 – Stereoscopic Photos
Charles Wheatstone showed that when presented with a different, 2D image in each eye, the brain processes this as one, 3D image. This gave viewers a sense of depth and immersion.
1929 – The First Flight Simulator
Nearly 100 years later, Edward Link created the first flight simulator, which was entirely mechanical, which he dubbed the “Link Trainer” It was used extensively during WW2 to train new pilots.
1930’s – Pygmalion’s Spectacles
Stanley Weinbaum writes a story called Pygmalion’s Spectacles, in which a man discovers a pair of glasses that allow the wearer to experience a fantasy world via a holographic display.
1950’s – The Sensorama
Morton Heilig’s Sensorama was an arcade style booth, fitted with equipment to stimulate all five senses, to create the illusion of true immersion, using fans, smell generators and a moving chair, among others.
1960 – First VR Headset
Morton Heilig’s next invention, this was very limited in its uses, with no sound, or any form of user interaction, just 3D vision.
1961 – First Head Mounted Display with Motion Tracking
It had a video screen per eye, and a magnetic motion tracking system, but it wasn’t designed with VR in mind.
1965 – The Ultimate Display
This was a concept put forward by Ivan Sutherland, which was the blueprint of what we call VR today. He suggested a 3D world, maintained in real time, and the ability for the user to interact with it.
1968 – Sword of Damocles
This was the first VR display to be connected to a computer rather than a camera. It was far too unwieldy to be worn comfortably, and could only generate wire frame rooms.
1969 – Artificial Reality
Myron Kruegere developed artificial environments which responded to the people in them.
1987 – The term is “virtual reality” is coined
Jaron Lanier coined the term virtual reality, and developed a range of expensive virtual reality gear.
1991 – VR Arcade
Now players could use goggles, connect with one another and play video games.
1993 – SEGA announce VR glasses
The prototype glasses had head tracking, LCD screens and stereo sound, but technical difficulties meant that they would forever remain in the design stage.
1995 – Nintendo Virtual Boy
This was hyped as the first console that could display true 3D graphic via a set of goggles, but the lack of colour graphics and development issues cause production to be discontinued.
21st Century VR
With the rapid advancement of computer technology, and as devices get smaller and more powerful, VR developments are coming thick and fast. With big companies like Samsung and Google investing heavily in VR, and the Oculus Rift being valued at £2bn, it is expected that virtual reality will become more and more advanced.