Milestone events
1840
Stereoscope
In 1838, Sir Charles Wheatstone created the Stereoscope, a device to view pictures in 3D. Made popular in the 80s as a child's toy.
1950
sensorama
Morton Heilig created the Sensorama that allowed users to watch a 10 minute long video with vibrations, sound, and wind.
1960
Morton Heilig also brought us the first VR headset as we know them today
sword of damocles
In 1968, Ivan Sutherland created the Sword of Damocles, a VR device that hooked up to a computer to display wire rooms and objects.
1970
ge flight simulator
In 1972, GE built a flight simulator to create immersion for a pilot trainee, and was adopted by the military for training.
1980
"sayre"/Power gloves
The "Sayre" glove was invented by Daniel Sandin and Thomas DeFanti to track movement, This device was made popular in 1989 with Nintendo Entertainment's Power Glove
1990
In the 90s we start to see VR moving into the arcade market with Virtuality Group Arcade Machines. Users would use VR goggles to view stereoscopic 3D visuals.
virtuality group arcade machines
2000
The Matrix
In 1999, The Matrix was released in theaters and we saw a glimpse into the "future" of VR where characters were simulated in a virtual world.
2010
Between 2016 and 2020, a multitude of VR headsets were created like Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PS VR, and more.
modern vr headsets
In 2012, Oculus Rift launched their Kickstarter campaign to create a device that would change the future for VR.
Virtual Reality has become an affordable house hold entertainment option with companies like Facebook, Google, and PlayStation releasing VR devices.
2020+
The future for VR technology is bright, there are many different applications of VR but we will see what the future holds for us.
