The Long And Storied History Of Virtual Reality

In 1839, English inventor and scientist Charles Wheatstone unveiled his latest creation: the Stereoscope. This innovative piece of technology took advantage of limitations of human vision to produce spectacular images. It worked with two separate images, one for each eye, and when viewed together allowed users to see a large, seemingly distant 3D image. This was one of the first ever “virtual reality” experiences. Though it was the work of simple optical illusions, the ideas behind it would continue to grow.

 

It really wasn’t until the mid- to late-20th century that the breakthroughs that would bring modern VR into the fold became possible. Cinematographer and pioneer of the art of VR, Morton Heilig became a celebrated name. Producing designs and products well ahead of their time, the ambition behind these devices inspired a generation. In 1960, Heilig introduced the Telesphere Mask as the first ever head mounted display, or HMD.  Developed more than 50 years ago, the futuristic design of the piece was not unlike the options we have today and incorporated more than just vision manipulation by adding surround sound and widescreen viewing. Just two years later this idea evolved yet again to include touch and even smell in the Sensorama and Motorcycle Simulator.

 

The history of VR is still being written. Are you keeping up? Take a look at this infographic for more on the long history of AR/VR developments, how old designs and first generation headsets inspire innovation today, and where we can expect VR to go in the future.