<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Virtual Reality (VR) is computer technology which allows a user to interact with a computer-simulated environment. Interest in VR technology and its future potential increased in the 1980s and 90s, influenced by advances in computer technology and the spread of the personal computer. VR technology however, predates the computer, finding its origin in the 1950s and 60s.

History

In 1956, Morton Heilig began work on a machine that would provide a multisensory experience for its users. The device, known as the Sensorama, combined projected film, audio, vibration, and further enhanced the experience with odors and wind simulation. The Sensorama was patented in 1961. It allowed a user to experience one of five two-minute films, enhanced by other sensations. The experiences included a dune buggy ride, riding a motorcycle through New York City, a helicopter ride over Century city in 1960, and a belly dance performance.

Helig also patented the first Head-Mounted Display (HMD). The device used #D photographic slides, stereo sound, wide display and an odor generator to give its users the sensation of being fully immersed in the action displayed inside the gear. The device was constructed by Philco Corporation and was designed to be used with a remote controlled closed circuit video system for remotely viewing dangerous situations

Future Potential

• Education
• Training

Virtual Reality in Fiction

Literature

• Simulacron-3 by Daniel F. Galouye
• Kilobyte by Piers Anthony
• Neuromancer by William Gibson

Film

• TRON (1982)
• The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
• The Matrix (1999)

Television

• Star Trek - Holodeck
• VR.5
• VR Troopers

Games

Related

• Artificial reality
• Computer graphics
• VirtuSphere
• Virtual artifact

External Links

• A Critical History of Computer Graphics and Animation

This article or section is a SCIFIPEDIA stub for the category Science and possibly others. You can improve SCIFIPEDIA by expanding on this stub]. Please be sure to consider the other categories assigned to this stub by the original creator. When finished, remove this stub from the article and the article from the Science stubs category.