XR and VR History

History and Origins of VR Technologies

The history of Virtual Reality is closely tied into the history of XR technologies as a whole and the concepts that underpin the format may date back further than you may think. Fiction has for a long time always written and depicted the concept of transporting people to other worlds and this list is not extensive but gives a glimpse of its progress as we storm towards the concept of the Metaverse.

1838 : 1939

Panorama and Stereoscopic Viewers

The idea of surrounding a user’s viewpoint in a different environment is nothing new as the concept and research behind Panoramas dates back to early large-scale paintings. It was not until 1838 however when research conducted by Charles Wheatstone explored how the human brain interprets depth and thus the science required to create images that can explore this realm. Viewing two side-by-side stereoscopic images or photos through a stereoscope gave the user a sense of depth and immersion. 

The later development of the popular View-Master stereoscope (patented 1939), was used for “virtual tourism”. The design principles of the Stereoscope are used today in many VR headsets.

• 1838 : The stereoscope (Charles Wheatstone)

• 1849 : The lenticular stereoscope (David Brewster)

• 1939 : The View-Master (William Gruber)

• 1930

  Concept of VR in Fiction - Pygmallions Spectacles

  In the 1930s a story by science fiction writer Stanley G. Weinbaum (Pygmalion’s Spectacles) contains the idea of a pair of goggles that let the wearer experience a fictional world through holographic, smell, taste, and touch. In hindsight the experience Weinbaum describes for those wearing the goggles are uncannily like the modern and emerging experience of virtual reality, making him a true visionary of the field.

• 1950s

  Morton Heilig’s Sensorama

  In the mid-1950s cinematographer, Morton Heilig developed the Sensorama (patented 1962) which was an arcade-style theatre cabinet that would stimulate all the senses, not just sight and sound. It featured stereo speakers, a stereoscopic 3D display, fans, smell generators, and a vibrating chair. The Sensorama was intended to fully immerse the individual in the film. 

  He also created six short films for his invention all of which he shot, produced, and edited himself. The Sensorama films were titled, Motorcycle, Belly Dancer, Dune Buggy, helicopter, A date with Sabina and I’m a coca cola bottle!

• 1960 - 61

  The first VR Head Mounted Display

  Morton Heilig’s next invention was the Telesphere Mask (patented 1960) and was the first example of a head-mounted display (HMD), albeit for the non-interactive film medium without any motion tracking. The headset provided stereoscopic 3D and wide vision with stereo sound.

  In 1961, two Philco Corporation engineers (Comeau & Bryan) developed the first precursor to the HMD as we know it today – the Headsight. It incorporated a video screen for each eye and a magnetic motion tracking system, which was linked to a closed-circuit camera. The Headsight was not actually developed for virtual reality applications (the term didn’t exist then), but to allow for immersive remote viewing of dangerous situations by the military. Head movements would move a remote camera, allowing the user to naturally look around the environment. Headsight was the first step in the evolution of the VR head-mounted display but it lacked the integration of computer and image generation.

• 1965

  The Ultimate display by Ivan Sutherland

  Ivan Sutherland described the “Ultimate Display” concept that could simulate reality to the point where one could not tell the difference from actual reality. His concept included:

  • A virtual world viewed through an HMD and appeared realistic through augmented 3D sound and tactile feedback.

  • Computer hardware to create the virtual world and maintain it in real time.

  • The ability of users to interact with objects in the virtual world in a realistic way

  “The ultimate display would, of course, be a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter. A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in. Handcuffs displayed in such a room would be confining, and a bullet displayed in such a room would be fatal. With appropriate programming such a display could literally be the Wonderland into which Alice walked.” – Ivan Sutherland

  This paper would become a core blueprint for the concepts that encompass virtual reality today.

• 1966

  Furness’ Flight Sim

  An engineer for the military named Thomas Furness is credited with kick-starting the development of modern flight simulator technology. Sometimes billed as “the grandfather of VR” his work in Human Interface Technology” continues to inform VR technology to this day.

• 1968

  Sword of Damocles

  In 1968 Ivan Sutherland and his student Bob Sproull created the first VR / AR head-mounted display (Sword of Damocles) that was connected to a computer and not a camera. It was a large and scary-looking contraption that was too heavy for any user to comfortably wear and was suspended from the ceiling (hence its name). The user would also need to be strapped into the device. The computer-generated graphics were very primitive wireframe rooms and objects.

• 1975

  Krueger’s VIDEOPLACE

  The VIDEOPLACE is widely regarded as the first interactive VR system. Using a mix of CG, light projection, cameras and screens it could measure user position. In modern terms, it’s more like an AR projection and didn’t feature any sort of headset.

• 1979

  The McDonnel-Douglas HMD

  The VITAL helmet is probably the first proper example of a VR HMD outside of the lab. Using a head tracker, pilots could look at primitive computer-generated imagery.

• 1982

  Sayre Gloves

  Finger-tracking gloves for VR called “Sayre” gloves are invented by Daniel Sandin and Thomas DeFanti. The gloves were wired to a computer system and used optical sensors to detect finger movement. This was the precursor to the “data gloves” that would be an important part of early VR.

• 1985

  VPL Research is Founded

  VR pioneers Jaron Lanier and Thomas Zimmerman found VPL Research. This is the first-ever VR company to sell HMDs and gloves. The term “data glove”, comes from their DataGlove product.

• 1987

  The term Virtual Reality is defined / Created

  Even after all of this development in virtual reality, there still wasn’t an all-encompassing term to describe the field. This all changed in 1987 when Jaron Lanier, founder of the visual programming lab (VPL), coined (or according to some popularised) the term “virtual reality”. 

  The research area now had a name. Through his company, VPL research Jaron developed a range of virtual reality gear including the Dataglove (along with Tom Zimmerman) and the EyePhone head-mounted display. They were the first company to sell Virtual Reality goggles (EyePhone 1 $9400; EyePhone HRX $49,000) and gloves ($9000). A major development in the area of virtual reality haptics.

• 1989

  NASA Gets Into VR

  NASA, with the help of Crystal River Engineering, creates Project VIEW. A VR sim is used to train astronauts. VIEW looks recognizable as a modern example of VR and features gloves for fine simulation of touch interaction. Interestingly, the technology in these gloves leads directly to the creation of the Nintendo Power Glove.

• 1991

  Virtuality Group Arcade Machines

  We began to see virtual reality devices to which the public had access, although household ownership of cutting-edge virtual reality was still far out of reach. The Virtuality Group launched a range of arcade games and machines. Players would wear a set of VR goggles and play on gaming machines with real-time (less than 50ms latency) immersive stereoscopic 3D visuals. Some units were also networked together for a multi-player gaming experience.

• 1992

  The Lawnmower Man Film is released

  The Lawnmower Man movie introduced the concept of virtual reality to a wider audience. It was in part based on the founder of Virtual Reality Jaron Lanier and his early laboratory days. Jaron was played by Pierce Brosnan, a scientist who used virtual reality therapy on a mentally disabled patient. Real virtual reality equipment from VPL research labs was used in the film and the director Brett Leonard, admitted to drawing inspiration from companies like VPL.

• 1993

  Sega VR glasses

  Sega announced the Sega VR headset for the Sega Genesis console 1993 at the Consumer Electronics Show in 1993. The wrap-around prototype glasses had head tracking, stereo sound, and LCD screens in the visor. Sega fully intended to release the product at a price point of about $200 at the time, or about $322 in 2015 money. However, technical development difficulties meant that the device would forever remain in the prototype phase despite having developed 4 games for this product. This was a huge flop for Sega.

• 1995

  Nintendo virtual Boy Released

  The Nintendo Virtual Boy (originally known as VR-32) was a 3D gaming console that was hyped to be the first ever portable console that could display true 3D graphics. It was first released in Japan and North America at a price of $180 but it was a commercial failure despite price drops. The reported reasons for this failure were a lack of colour in graphics (games were in red and black), there was a lack of software support and it was difficult to use the console in a comfortable position. The following year it discontinued its production and sale.

• 2007 - 2010

  Street View Goes 3D and the Oculus is Prototyped

  2007 Google released Google Streetview.

  Just a few years later, Street View gets a 3D mode, but the much bigger news in the history of VR is the work being done by a young man known as Palmer Lucky. He’s created a kit VR headset that anyone can make, but a fateful meeting with computer legend John Carmack puts him on the path to taking his “Oculus Rift” bigger than he could have imagined.

• 2012

  The Oculus Kickstarter

  Palmer Lucky launches a Kickstarter to fund the product and development of his prototype headset, the Rift. The campaign raises almost 2.5 million dollars and is a clear dividing line between the commercial failures of consumer VR in the past and the modern VR revolution.

• 2018+

  Standalone VR Rises, Mobile VR Declines

  We now have both the Oculus Go and Oculus Quest. Two examples of standalone VR, that need no computer or phone to work. Mobile VR is declining rapidly and standalone systems such as the Go are very affordable.

  A few years later the Oculus Go would be discontinued and replaced by Quest., Quest 2, Vive Focus, and Pro.