-
Sensorama
created by Cinematographer Morton Heilig, it was a large booth that could fit up to four people at a time. It combined multiple technologies to stimulate all of the senses: there was a combined full colour 3D video, audio, vibrations, smell and atmospheric effects, such as wind. -
Period: to
Virtual Reality
-
The Sword of Damocles
Sutherland, with his student Bob Sproull, created the first virtual reality HMD, named The Sword of Damocles. This head-mount connected to a computer rather than a camera and was quite primitive as it could only show simple virtual wire-frame shapes. -
VITAL Helmet
McDonnell-Douglas Corporation integrated VR into its HMD, the VITAL helmet, for military use. A head tracker in the HMD followed the pilot's eye movements to match computer-generated images. -
VPL Research developed a range of VR equipment.
Jaron Lanier and Thomas Zimmerman founded VPL Research, Inc. This company is known as the first company to sell VR goggles and gloves. They developed a range of VR equipment, such as, the DataGlove, EyePhone HMD and the Audio Sphere. -
Computer Simulated Teleportation
The Virtuality Group launched Virtuality. These were VR arcade machines where gamer's could play in a 3D gaming world. This was the first mass-produced VR entertainment system. -
Nintendo
Nintendo launched the Virtual Boy console which played 3D monochrome video games. It was the first portable console to display 3D graphics. But it was a commercial failure due to: the lack of colour graphics, lack of software support and it wasn't comfortable to use. One year later it was discontinued. -
SAS Cude
SAS Cube was the first PC based cubic room. It led to Virtools VR Pack. -
3D Street View
Google introduced Street View. Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides panoramas from positions along many streets in the world. -
Oculus Rift
Luckey launched a Kick-starter campaign for the Oculus Rift which raised $2.4 million. Then Facebook bought the Oculus VR company for $2 billion. This was a defining moment in VR's history because VR gained momentum rapidly after this. -
HTC VIVE SteamVR headset
By 2016, many companies were developing VR products. HTC released its HTC VIVE SteamVR headset. This was the first commercial release of a headset with sensor-based tracking which allowed users to move freely in a space. -
PS4 VR headset
Many companies are developing their own VR headsets, including HTC, Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft Sony, Samsung etc. They also added a headset for a PS4 -
VR
Virtual reality has significantly progressed and is now being used in a variety of ways, from providing gaming experiences, to helping treat psychological disorders, to teaching new skills and even taking terminally ill people on virtual journeys. VR has many applications and with the rise in smartphone technology VR will be even more accessible. -
Cupertino-based tech giant
Apple is planning to release a new virtual reality headset. It is called the Cupertino-based tech giant. hoping to generate the same levels of excitement last seen with the release of the original iPhone.
