Virtual reality

Virtual reality (VR) is the experience of having a computer generated environment immerse the user. It involves technology that uses computer-generated environments to simulate a physical presence in a virtual world. The system uses position-tracking and responds to the user’s inputs.

Virtual reality can be used as an interactive and immersive medium, which can be used to create unique experiences that are unattainable elsewhere.

Virtual reality is related to augmented reality.

Hardware technologies

Head-mounted display

VR is enabled by head-mounted displays (HMDs) such as the Oculus Rift. HMDs utilize stereoscopic displays and specialized lenses along with motion tracking hardware to give the illusion that the user is physically inside the virtual world.

The headset tracks the movement of your head and changes the images shown on the display based on it. This process creates the sensation that users are located within the virtual environment. Users of these devices are able to interact with the virtual environments. Various input methods, from the traditional game controllers and keyboards to the futuristic hand gestures and voice commands, are available or under development.

Position and rotation tracking

A HMD tracks the movement of the user's head and updates the rendered scene based on the head's position and orientation. This process is similar to how we look around in real life. There are 2 classifications of tracking: rotational tracking and positional.

Rotational tracking tracks the 3 rotational movements: pitch, yaw, and roll. It is performed by IMUs such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers.

Positional tracking tracks the 3 translational movements: forward/back, up/down and left/right.

Motion tracking is not only used to track your head in HMDs but also used to track your hands and rest of your body through various input devices.

History

VR is possible using electronics and computer technology. More primitive ideas can be implemented using more primitive technology, such as a fixed stereoscope, or panoramic murals (or 360-degree murals). These fill the viewer’s field of vision with the intention of making them feel a sense of presence at a certain historical event or scene.

Stereoscopes work because the brain processes different two-dimensional images for each eye into a single three dimensional-ish object. A stereoscope gives some sense of depth and immersion.

It could be argued that since the creation of stereoscopic images, people have been interested in making images more three dimensional to enrich its experience.

Virtual reality is related to flight simulators.

1936 - Pygmalion’s Spectacles

Science fiction writer Stanley G. Weinbaum wrote a short story - Pygmalion’s Spectacles - that had the idea of a pair of goggles that allowed the user to experience a different world through holographic recordings, smell, taste, and touch.

1956 - The Sensorama

Morton Heilig developed the Sensorama, which was patented only in the year +1962 and might be considered the first true VR system. It was an arcade-style cabinet that stimulated all the senses. It had a stereoscopic 3D display, stereo speakers, vibrating seat, fans, and a scent producer. It was intended to fully immerse a person in a film. Heilig created six short films for his invention titled Motorcycle, Belly Dancer, Dune Buggy, Helicopter, A date with Sabina, and I’m a coca cola bottle! Heilig intended the Sensorama to be one in a line of products for the “cinema of the future”. Unable to secure financial backing, his vision never became reality.

1960 - First VR Head-Mounted Display

After the Sensorama, Morton Heilig invented the first example of a virtual reality headset - the Telesphere Mask. It only worked with non-interactive films and didn’t have motion tracking. Nevertheless, the headset provided stereoscopic 3D and wide vision with stereo sound.

Motion tracking HMD based solely on camera imagery

Motion tracked-HMDs can be used for immersive remote viewing of dangerous situations, for use in military. An immersive device like this does not need to have a computer rendering system attached. It can be attached to a motion tracked camera using an electromagnetic tracking system. This type of device can use a video screen for each eye. In this type of system, the head movements of the user are replicated by a remote camera, allowing him to look around the environment.

1965 - The Ultimate Display

Ivan Sutherland developed the concept of the “Ultimate Display”. This device could simulate the natural world so realistically that a user could not tell the difference between actual reality and virtual reality. The concept comprised of a virtual world viewed through an HMD and had augmented 3D sound and tactile feedback; computer hardware that created the virtual environment and maintained it in real time; and interactivity between users and objects from the VR world in a realistic way. Sutherland suggested that the device would serve as a “windows into a virtual world”, and his idea would become a core blueprint for the concepts that encompassed VR as of 2015.

1968 - Sword of Damocles

Ivan Sutherland and Bob Sproull created the Sword of Damocles, an HMD that was held by a mechanical arm mounted on a ceiling. The device was connected to a computer and displayed simple wireframe graphics to the user. The arm tracked the user’s head movements but was difficult to use. The contraption was also too heavy and bulky for comfortable use.

1969 - Artificial Reality

Myron Krueger developed a series of experiences called “Artificial Reality”. He developed computer-generated environments that responded to the people in it. He created several projects such as Glowflow, Metaplay, and Psychic Space leading to the development of the Videoplace technology. This enabled communication between people at a distance in a responsive computer-generated environment.

1975 - Videoplace

Myron Krueger created the Videoplace, which was the first interactive VR platform. The virtual reality surrounded the user and responded to movements and actions without the use of goggles or gloves. The Videoplace was a mix of several other artificial reality systems that he had developed.

1982 - Sayre gloves

The Sayre glove was the first wired glove. It was invented by Daniel J. Sandin and Thomas Defanti from an idea by Richard Sayre. Both scientists were from the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois, Chicago. The glove used light emitters and photocells in the fingers. When flexed, the quantity of light reaching the photocell changed, translating the finger movements into electrical signals.

1985 - NASA project

The VIEW project at NASA’s Ames Research Center was founded with the purpose of producing a VR system that allowed astronauts to control robots outside a space station (Figure 4). The HMD that was developed had super-wide optics (almost an 180-degree field of view).

1987 - The term "virtual reality” is created

Before the year 1987, the term "virtual reality" didn't exist. In 1987, Jaron Lanier, founder of the Visual Programming Lab, VPL, coined the term “virtual reality”. Lanier, through his company, developed a range of VR gear including the Dataglove and the EyePhone headset. The company also made the first surgical simulator, the first vehicle prototyping simulator, and the first architecture simulators.

1991 - Virtuality Group

By this time, VR devices started to be available to the public (although owning cutting-edge VR was still out of reach). The Virtuality Group launched several arcade games and machines in which players would use a set of VR goggles (Figure 5). The machines had immersive stereoscopic 3D visuals, handheld joysticks, and some unit were networked together for multiplayer gaming. There were some discussions about bringing Virtuality to Atari’s Jaguar console, but the idea was abandoned.

1993 - Sega’s virtual reality headset

At the Consumer Electronics Show in the year +1993, Sega announced a virtual reality headset for the Sega Genesis console. The prototype had head tracking, stereo sound and LCD screens in the visor. Sega intended to have a general release of the product, but technical difficulties stopped that from happening and the headset remained as a prototype.

1995 - Nintendo Virtual Boy

The Virtual Boy is a 3D gaming console, marketed as the first portable console that could display 3D graphics. It was released in Japan and North America, and it was a commercial failure for Nintendo. Some of the reasons for the failure were the lack of color in graphics (only red and black), lack of software support, and difficulty in using the console in a comfortable position. Production of the console was halted in the year 1996.

Virtual reality in the 21st century

After 1997, the public interest in VR saw a decrease. Nevertheless, the first fifteen years of the 21st century had several advancements in the field of virtual reality. Computer technology, including small and powerful mobile technologies, increased in power while prices were getting more accessible.

The interest in VR regained momentum after Palmer Luckey created the first prototype of the Oculus Rift, in +2011, and launched a kickstarter campaign for its development in +2012. The campaign was successful, raising $2.5 million. In March 2014, Facebook bought the company Oculus VR for $2 billion dollars. After this, virtual reality's popularity hugely increased. Multiple companies invested in the development of their own VR systems. The rise of smartphones with high-density displays and 3D capabilities has also enabled the development of lightweight and practical VR devices.

Google Cardboard happened in about the year +2015.

SteamVR happened. Then the Oculus Quest VR headsets.