Virtual reality technologies build upon concepts that preceded the period that the idea was invented and formalized. We look at how technology has transformed and how main developers have paved the road for virtual reality in this general history of virtual reality.
In 1838, Charles Wheatstone developed that the brain can process distinct two-dimensional images from each eye into a single three-dimensional object. Through a stereoscope, the individual is given a sense of and immersion by looking at both side by side stereoscopic pictures (“History Of Virtual Reality”, n.d.). (This has eventually advanced into the View-Master (F). In the 1930s, the first sources to a more modern idea of virtual reality came from a science fiction writer, Stanley G. Weinbaum which is the short story “Pygmalion’s Spectacles”. It explains the concept of a pair of goggle-based virtual reality system with a holographic recording of the fictional world such as smell, taste and touch.
In 1956, Morton Heilig created the Sensorama that was patented 1962. It is a theatre cabinet that would be engaging multiple senses, including sight, sound, smell, and touch. Multisensory stimulation allows users to view the road, listen to the engine, and sense the vibration, in the designed environment (“HISTORY OF VIRTUAL REALITY”, n.d.). Morton
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Lanier was the founder of VPL Research in 1985. This company was the first to sell Virtual Reality goggles, EyePhone, and gloves. The idea of virtual reality was introduced to a wider audience by the Lawnmower Man horror film in 1992. The story was based on Jaron Lanier, the founder of Virtual Reality, and his early laboratory days. In the film, real virtual reality equipment from VPL research labs was used and the director Brett Leonard acknowledged to develop inspiration from VPL companies (“History Of Virtual Reality”,
.... 'It is a moment when the visible escapes from the timeless incorporeal order of the camera obscura and becomes lodged in another apparatus, within the unstable physiology and temporality of the human body'. Crary further demonstrates the shift in vision's location from camera to body by examining the way in which it was reproduced in various optical devices invented during this same period, specifically the stereoscope, the kaleidoscope, the phenakistiscope, and the diorama. His examination is based on a provocative premise: 'There is a tendency to conflate all optical devices in the nineteenth century as equally implicated in a vague collective drive to higher and higher standards of verisimilitude' (110). According to Crary, such an approach tends to neglect entirely how some of these devices were expressions of what he calls 'nonveridical' models of perception.
"Suppose there were an experience machine that would give you any experience you desired. Superduper neuropsychologists could stimulate your brain so that you would think and feel you were writing a great novel, or making a friend, or reading an interesting book. All the time you would be floating in a tank, with electrodes attached to your brain. Should you plug into this machine for life, preprogramming your life experiences? [...] Of course, while in the tank you won't know that you're there; you'll think that it's all actually happening [...] Would you plug in?." (3)
Virtual Reality got famous from the gaming industry and from sci-fi movies. In science fiction films there were numerous scenes about person wearing goggles and then looking into a different world or a portal. Things which are presented in movies do fascinate the viewers and so the real Virtual Reality concept came to life. This thing was also seen from the gaming industry as one of the biggest Graphics Processing Chip Company NVidia built its first stereoscopic goggles called NVidia 3D vision. The sole purpose of those glasses was to wear them while playing a game and it will make you feel like you are the character and you are inside the game. Some of the games which made this technology popular are Battlefield, Batman, HAWX and
Wagner, Richard. “Outlines of the Artwork of the Future,” in Multimedia from Wagner to Virtual Reality, eds. R. Packer and K. Jordan. W.W. Norton, 2001.
Next we jump to 1960 with the first VR head mounted display called the Telesphere Mask .Which was created by the same guy that created the sensorama, Morton
As time and people are continually changing, so is knowledge and information; and in the film industry there are inevitable technological advances necessary to keep the attraction of the public. It is through graphic effects, sounds and visual recordings that all individuals see how we have evolved to present day digital technology; and it is because of the efforts and ideas of the first and latest great innovators of the twentieth century that we have advanced in film and computers.
Two dimensional computer generated imagery was used to express depth and to produce new shades that could not be depicted just through animation and drawing.
With the advances in technology and the growth in understanding of the human brain, it seems that what was once thought to be only possible in science fiction could soon become reality. In the future, virtual reality will become more immersive and trick all your senses into believing the experience is real. Signals can be transmitted directly to a person’s brain which would allow them to see, hear or fell sensory input. This can be achieved through Brain-computer interface. (Grabianowski, n.d.).
The story of augmented reality goes back as far as the early 1900’s when L. Frank Baum wrote the “novel The Master Key. Printed in 1901, the book mentions a “character marker” set of electronic spectacles that when you view someone through them would show a letter on that person’s forehead regarding their character.” However, the first invention to use some type of augmented reality would not come along till 1968 and Ivan E. Sutherland and his head mounted three dimensional display. “The fundamental idea behind the three-dimensional display is to present the user with a perspective image which changes as he moves.” This would allow for an illusion of 3D on a 2D plane. This however, wasn’t true augmented reality; yes this augmented what you see on a screen and gave an illusion of 3 dimensions, but it does not overlay actual reality with com...
What has just happened is the technology of the future called virtual reality. This is concept that allows one to think they are experiencing something through the use of the major senses. Virtual reality creates an imaginary image that allows for a sense of deception. Virtual reality takes place in many ...
A major distinction of VR systems is the mode with which they interface to the user. We would describe some of the common modes used in VR systems.
Virtualization technologies provide isolation of operating systems from hardware. This separation enables hardware resource sharing. With virtualization, a system pretends to be two or more of the same system [23]. Most modern operating systems contain a simplified system of virtualization. Each running process is able to act as if it is the only thing running. The CPUs and memory are virtualized. If a process tries to consume all of the CPU, a modern operating system will pre-empt it and allow others their fair share. Similarly, a running process typically has its own virtual address space that the operating system maps to physical memory to give the process the illusion that it is the only user of RAM.
Over the years society has changed in many different ways. In particular, technology has been the largest change that has occurred over the year. Only a few years ago the iPhone came out and it has forever changed the way people view their phone. Internet has also become very assessable resource. There are places everywhere to access a computer or free Wi-Fi. These changes have led to the alteration of the accessibility and use of technology in the education setting. The changes made to technology in the education setting have led to many positive outcomes that have allowed many types of people access to education that could not get it prior. There are however, many critics that refute these changes and say that virtual education can be biased and expensive. Although, there are many critics that do not agree with technology in education, have this can give access to many students with disabilities as well as people who have limited time or ability to further an education.
Virtual reality is a new exploration in science and technology using advanced and complex mechanics. Virtual reality allows for users to go far beyond simply looking at a computer screen. Instead, the user puts on a special suit or gloves equipped with fiber-optic sensors. These fiber-optic sensors are able to interpret body positions. The user also wears special goggles that have video screens and audio attachments. This equipment allows for the user's complete immersion into a 3-D, computer generated, model of reality (Carr 37). The use of a two-way data transfer is what enables this interaction with an alternate reality to occur. Fiber-optic and electronic cables are attached to the virtual reality equipment in order to record the user's movements (Newquist 93). These cables then send this information, called motion data, to workstations which modifies the graphics in the model. The new information is then sent back to the users headset, displaying a graphic and audio world that is time with his or her movements. It is because of this cabling process that the action/reaction information is continually updated (93).
Today, movies use CGI to create special effects to replace thousands of extras, stunt people, and puppet like characters, as witnessed in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The evolution of special effects and Computer Generated Imagery technologies has taken the film industry to a whole new level. Computer Generated Imagery began with awkward and dull effects in the early 1980’s. The 1982 film “Tron” was a desperate attempt from Disney to jump on the CGI bandwagon and start a revolution in film making technologies (imdb.com). Although this film showed an attempt at something that had never been done before in the history of cinematics, it was weird and confusing.