Editing Virtual reality (section)

=== 20th century ===
[[Morton Heilig]] wrote in the 1950s of an "Experience Theatre" that could encompass all the senses in an effective manner, thus drawing the viewer into the onscreen activity. He built a prototype of his vision dubbed the [[Sensorama]] in 1962, along with five short films to be displayed in it while engaging multiple senses (sight, sound, smell, and touch). Predating digital computing, the Sensorama was a [[Machine|mechanical device]]. Heilig also developed what he referred to as the "Telesphere Mask" (patented in 1960). The patent application described the device as "a telescopic television apparatus for individual use... The spectator is given a complete sensation of reality, i.e., moving three-dimensional images that may be in color, with 100% peripheral vision, binaural sound, scents, and air breezes."<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.techradar.com/news/wearables/forgotten-genius-the-man-who-made-a-working-vr-machine-in-1957-1318253/2 | title=Forgotten genius: the man who made a working VR machine in 1957 | author=Holly Brockwell | date=3 April 2016 | publisher=Tech Radar | access-date=7 March 2017}}</ref>

In 1968, Harvard Professor [[Ivan Sutherland]], with the help of his students, including [[Bob Sproull]], created what was widely considered to be the first head-mounted display system for use in immersive simulation applications, called [[The Sword of Damocles (virtual reality)|The Sword of Damocles]]. It was primitive both in terms of [[user interface]] and visual realism, and the HMD to be worn by the user was so heavy that it had to be suspended from the ceiling, which gave the device a formidable appearance and inspired its name.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Watkins |first1=Christopher |last2=Marenka |first2=Stephen |title=Virtual Reality Excursions with Programs in C |date=1994| publisher= Academic Press Inc. |isbn=0-12-737865-0 |page=58}}</ref> Technically, the device was an augmented reality device due to optical passthrough. The graphics comprising the virtual environment were simple [[wire-frame model]] rooms.

==== 1970–1990 ====
The virtual reality industry mainly provided VR devices for medical, flight simulation, automobile industry design, and military training purposes from 1970 to 1990.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.ncsa.illinois.edu/Cyberia/VETopLevels/VR.History.html|title=National Center for Supercomputing Applications: History|publisher=The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821054144/http://archive.ncsa.illinois.edu/Cyberia/VETopLevels/VR.History.html|archive-date=21 August 2015}}</ref>

[[David Em]] became the first artist to produce navigable virtual worlds at [[NASA]]'s [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] (JPL) from 1977 to 1984.<ref name="Creative Computing March 1982">{{cite journal|last1=Nelson|first1=Ted|title=Report on Siggraph '81|journal=Creative Computing|date=March 1982}}</ref> The [[Aspen Movie Map]], a crude [[virtual tour]] in which users could wander the streets of [[Aspen, Colorado|Aspen]] in one of the three modes (summer, winter, and [[Polygon (computer graphics)|polygons]]), was created at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] in 1978.

[[File:Virtual Reality Headset Prototype.jpg|thumb|[[Ames Research Center|NASA Ames]]'s 1985 VIEW headset]]

In 1979, [[Eric Howlett]] developed the Large Expanse, Extra Perspective (LEEP) optical system. The combined system created a stereoscopic image with a field-of-view wide enough to create a convincing sense of space. The users of the system have been impressed by the sensation of depth ([[field of view]]) in the scene and the corresponding realism. The original LEEP system was redesigned for NASA's [[Ames Research Center]] in 1985 for their first virtual reality installation, the VIEW (Virtual Interactive Environment Workstation)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fisher |first1=Scott S. |title=The NASA Ames VIEWlab Project—A Brief History |journal=Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments |date=22 December 2016 |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=339–348 |doi=10.1162/PRES_a_00277 }}</ref> by [[Scott Fisher (technologist)|Scott Fisher]]. The LEEP system provides the basis for most of the modern virtual reality headsets.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Thomas|first1=Wayne|title="Virtual Reality and Artificial Environments", A Critical History of Computer Graphics and Animation|date=December 2005|chapter=Section 17}}</ref>

[[File:VPL DataSuit 1.jpg|upright|thumb|left|A [[VPL Research]] DataSuit, a full-body outfit with sensors for measuring the movement of arms, legs, and trunk. Developed {{Circa|1989}}. Displayed at the [[Nissho Iwai]] showroom in Tokyo]]

By the late 1980s, the term "virtual reality" was popularized by [[Jaron Lanier]], one of the modern pioneers of the field. Lanier had founded the company [[VPL Research]] in 1984. VPL Research has developed several VR devices like the [[DataGlove]], the EyePhone, the Reality Built For Two (RB2), and the AudioSphere. VPL licensed the DataGlove technology to [[Mattel]], which used it to make the [[Power Glove]], an early affordable VR device, released in 1989. That same year [[Broderbund]]'s [[U-Force]] was released.

[[Atari, Inc.]] founded a research lab for virtual reality in 1982, but the lab was closed after two years due to the [[video game crash of 1983]]. However, its hired employees, such as <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?entryid=4081|title=Zimmerman & Lanier Develop the DataGlove, a Hand Gesture Interface Device : History of Information|website=www.historyofinformation.com}}</ref> [[Scott Fisher (technologist)|Scott Fisher]], [[Michael Naimark]], and [[Brenda Laurel]], kept their research and development on VR-related technologies.

In 1988, the Cyberspace Project at [[Autodesk]] was the first to implement VR on a low-cost personal computer.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Barlow |first1=John Perry |title=Being in Nothingness |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/04/virtual-reality-and-the-pioneers-of-cyberspace |date=1990|magazine=Wired}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Cyberspace – The New Explorers| year=1989 | url=https://archive.org/details/Timothy_Leary_Archives_005.dv |via = Internet Archive|access-date=8 August 2019}}</ref>  The project leader Eric Gullichsen left in 1990 to found Sense8 Corporation and develop the WorldToolKit virtual reality SDK,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Delaney |first1=Ben |title=Virtual Reality 1.0 -- The 90s: The Birth of VR |date=2017 |publisher=CyberEdge Information Services |isbn=978-1513617039 |page=40}}</ref> which offered the first real time graphics with [[Texture mapping]] on a PC, and was widely used throughout industry and academia.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stoker |first1=Carol |title=MARSMAP: AN INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL REALITY MODEL OF THE PATHFINDER LANDING SITE |url=https://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/science/lpsc98/1018.pdf |website=NASA JPL |publisher=NASA |access-date=7 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Cullen |first1=Chris |title=Pioneering VR Stories Part 1: Idaho National Laboratory In The '90s |date=13 April 2017 |url=https://idahovirtualreality.com/pioneering-vr-stories-part-1-idaho-national-laboratory-90s/ |publisher=Idaho Virtual Reality Council|access-date=7 August 2019}}</ref>

==== 1990–2000 ====
The 1990s saw the first widespread commercial releases of consumer headsets. In 1992, for instance, ''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' predicted "affordable VR by 1994".<ref name="engler1992">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=100 | title=Affordable VR by 1994 | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=November 1992 | access-date=4 July 2014 | author=Engler, Craig E. | page=80}}</ref>

In 1991, [[Sega]] announced the [[Sega VR]] headset for the [[Mega Drive]] home console. It used LCD screens in the visor, stereo headphones, and inertial sensors that allowed the system to [[tracking system|track]] and react to the movements of the user's head.<ref name="Horowitz">{{cite web|last=Horowitz|first=Ken|title=Sega VR: Great Idea or Wishful Thinking?|url=http://www.sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=5&title=Sega%20VR:%20Great%20Idea%20or%20Wishful%20Thinking?|publisher=Sega-16|date=December 28, 2004|access-date=21 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114191355/http://sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=5&title=Sega%20VR%3A%20Great%20Idea%20or%20Wishful%20Thinking%3F|archive-date=2010-01-14|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the same year, [[Virtuality (gaming)|Virtuality]] launched and went on to become the first mass-produced, networked, multiplayer VR entertainment system that was released in many countries, including a dedicated VR [[Amusement arcade|arcade]] at [[Embarcadero Center]]. Costing up to $73,000 per multi-pod Virtuality system, they featured headsets and exoskeleton gloves that gave one of the first "immersive" VR experiences.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QiKnHxX7CY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/-QiKnHxX7CY| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Virtuality|website=YouTube|date=17 April 2008 |access-date=21 September 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

[[File:CAVE at INL's CAES 001.jpg|thumb|A [[Cave automatic virtual environment|CAVE]] system at [[Idaho National Laboratory|IDL]]'s Center for Advanced Energy Studies in 2010]]

That same year, [[Carolina Cruz-Neira]], [[Daniel J. Sandin]], and [[Thomas A. DeFanti]] from the [[Electronic Visualization Laboratory]] created the first cubic immersive room, the [[Cave automatic virtual environment]] (CAVE). Developed as Cruz-Neira's PhD thesis, it involved a multi-projected environment, similar to the [[holodeck]], allowing people to see their own bodies in relation to others in the room.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Goad|first1=Angela|title=Carolina Cruz-Neira {{!}} Introductions Necessary|url=https://introductionsnecessary.com/podcast/carolina-cruz-neira/|website=Introductions Necessary|access-date=28 March 2017}}</ref><ref name="Arkansas Online Niera">{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=David|title=Engineer envisions sci-fi as reality|url=http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2014/nov/24/engineer-envisions-sci-fi-as-reality-20/?print|access-date=28 March 2017|work=Arkansas Online|date=November 24, 2014}}</ref> Antonio Medina, an MIT graduate and NASA scientist, designed a virtual reality system to "drive" Mars rovers from Earth in apparent real time despite the substantial delay of Mars-Earth-Mars signals.<ref>{{cite journal |editor= Gonzales, D.|title=Automation and Robotics for the Space Exploration Initiative: Results from Project Outreach|journal=NASA STI/Recon Technical Report N|url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/notes/2009/N3284.pdf|volume=92 |issue=17897 |page=35 |year=1991|bibcode=1991STIN...9225258G|last1=Gonzales|first1=D.|last2=Criswell|first2=D.|last3=Heer|first3=E}}</ref>

[[File:Virtual-Fixtures-USAF-AR.jpg|thumb|[[Virtual fixture|Virtual Fixtures]] immersive [[augmented reality|AR]] system developed in 1992. Picture features Dr. Louis Rosenberg interacting freely in 3D with overlaid virtual objects called 'fixtures'.]]

In 1992, [[Nicole Stenger]] created ''Angels'', the first real-time interactive immersive movie where the interaction was facilitated with a [[dataglove]] and high-resolution goggles. That same year, Louis Rosenberg created the [[virtual fixture]]s system at the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]]'s [[Armstrong Laboratory|Armstrong Labs]] using a full upper-body [[exoskeleton]], enabling a physically realistic mixed reality in 3D. The system enabled the overlay of physically real 3D virtual objects registered with a user's direct view of the real world, producing the first true augmented reality experience enabling sight, sound, and touch.<ref name="Rosenberg 1992">Rosenberg, Louis (1992). "The Use of Virtual Fixtures As Perceptual Overlays to Enhance Operator Performance in Remote Environments.". ''Technical Report AL-TR-0089, USAF Armstrong Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB OH, 1992''.</ref><ref>Rosenberg, L.B. (1993). "Virtual Fixtures: Perceptual Overlays for Telerobotic Manipulation". ''In Proc. of the IEEE Annual Int. Symposium on Virtual Reality (1993)'': pp. 76–82.</ref>

By July 1994, Sega had released the [[VR-1]] motion simulator ride attraction in [[Joypolis]] indoor theme parks,<ref>{{cite magazine|date=July 1994|title=News & Information|magazine=[[Gemaga|Beep! Mega Drive]]|issue=1994–08|page=[https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=File:BeepMD_JP_1994-08.pdf&page=31]}}</ref> as well as the ''Dennou Senki Net Merc'' [[arcade game]]. Both used an advanced head-mounted display dubbed the "Mega Visor Display" developed in conjunction with Virtuality;<ref name="VR Focus">{{cite web|publisher=VR Focus|title=The Virtual Arena – Blast From The Past: The VR-1|author=Kevin Williams|work=VRFocus |url=https://www.vrfocus.com/2020/07/the-virtual-arena-blast-from-the-past-the-vr-1/}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|date=August 1993|title=Sega Teams Up With W. Industries For Its VR Game|magazine=Game Machine|issue=455|page=[https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19930815p.pdf]}}</ref> it was able to track head movement in a 360-degree stereoscopic 3D environment, and in its ''Net Merc'' incarnation was powered by the [[Sega Model 1]] [[arcade system board]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/nextgen-issue-006/Next_Generation_Issue_006_June_1995#page/n23/mode/2up|title=NEXT Generation|issue=6|date=June 1995|via=archive.org|access-date=20 October 2015}}</ref> [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] released [[QuickTime VR]], which, despite using the term "VR", was unable to represent virtual reality, and instead displayed 360-degree [[interactive panorama]]s.

[[Nintendo]]'s [[Virtual Boy]] console was released in 1995.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theverge.com:80/products/virtual-boy/1672 |title=Nintendo Virtual Boy on theverge.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401035942/http://www.theverge.com:80/products/virtual-boy/1672|archive-date=2014-04-01}}</ref> A group in Seattle created public demonstrations of a [[Cave automatic virtual environment|"CAVE-like"]] 270 degree immersive projection room called the Virtual Environment Theater, produced by entrepreneurs Chet Dagit and Bob Jacobson.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-02-22-fi-34851-story.html |title= Virtual Reality Applications Expand : Imaging: Technology is finding important places in medicine, engineering and many other realms |newspaper= Los Angeles Times|date= 1995-02-22|last1= Dye|first1= Lee}}</ref> Forte released the [[VFX1 Headgear|VFX1]], a PC-powered virtual reality headset that same year.

In 1999, entrepreneur [[Philip Rosedale]] formed [[Linden Lab]] with an initial focus on the development of VR hardware. In its earliest form, the company struggled to produce a commercial version of "The Rig", which was realized in prototype form as a clunky steel contraption with several computer monitors that users could wear on their shoulders. The concept was later adapted into the personal computer-based, 3D virtual world program ''[[Second Life]]''.<ref>Au, Wagner James. ''The Making of Second Life'', pg. 19. New York: Collins. {{ISBN|978-0-06-135320-8}}.</ref>