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Panoramic paintings
If we focus more strictly on the scope of virtual reality as a means of creating the illusion that we are present somewhere we are not, then the earliest attempt at virtual reality is surely the 360-degree murals (or panoramic paintings) from the nineteenth century. These paintings were intended to fill the viewer’s entire field of vision, making them feel present at some historical event or scene. -
Stereoscopic photos & viewers
Charles Wheatstone’s research demonstrated that the brain processes the different two-dimensional images from each eye into a single object of three dimensions. Viewing two side by side stereoscopic images or photos through a stereoscope gave the user a sense of depth and immersion. The later development of the popular View-Master stereoscope (patented 1939), was used for “virtual tourism”. -
Link Trainer The First Flight Simulator
Edward Link created the “Link trainer” (patented 1931) probably the first example of a commercial flight simulator, which was entirely electromechanical. In 2015 money this was just shy of $50 000. During World War II over 10,000 “blue box” Link Trainers were used by over 500,000 pilots for initial training and improving their skills. -
Science fiction story predicted VR
In the 1930s a story by science fiction writer Stanley G. Weinbaum (Pygmalion’s Spectacles) contains the idea of a pair of goggles that let the wearer experience a fictional world through holographics, smell, taste and touch. In hindsight the experience Weinbaum describes for those wearing the goggles are uncannily like the modern and emerging experience of virtual reality, making him a true visionary of the field. -
Morton Heilig’s Sensorama
In the mid 50's cinematographer Morton Heilig developed the Sensorama (patented 1962) which was an arcade-style theatre cabinet that would stimulate all the senses, not just sight and sound. It featured stereo speakers, a stereoscopic 3D display, fans, smell generators and a vibrating chair. The Sensorama was intended to fully immerse the individual in the film. -
Sword of Damocles
In 1968 Ivan Sutherland (and student Bob Sproull) created the first VR / AR head mounted display (Sword of Damocles) that was connected to a computer and not a camera. It was a large and scary looking contraption that was too heavy for any user to comfortably wear and was suspended from the ceiling (hence its name). The user would also need to be strapped into the device. The computer generated graphics were very primitive wireframe rooms and objects. -
Artificial Reality
In 1969 Myron Kruegere a virtual reality computer artist developed a series of experiences which he termed “artificial reality” in which he developed computer-generated environments that responded to the people in it. This technology enabled people to communicate with each other in a responsive computer generated environment despite being miles apart -
Jean Baudrillard publie Simulacre et Simulation
Le philosophe français Jean Baudrillard poursuit et approfondit sa réflexion sur le concept de simulacre qu'il avait commencée dans L'échange symbolique et la mort.
Ce livre sera d'une influence considérable sur le film Matrix des frères Wachowki (depuis les sœurs Wachowski) -
Publication du livre Neuromancier
Le premier roman de l'auteur de science fiction William Gibson et faisant partie d'une trilogie Compte Zéro (1986) et Mona Lisa s'éclate (1988).
Considéré comme le roman fondateur du mouvement cyberpunk et à l'origine du concept de cyberespace. -
Virtual reality the name was "born"
Even after all of this development in virtual reality, there still wasn’t an all-encompassing term to describe the field. This all changed in 1987 when Jaron Lanier, founder of the visual programming lab (VPL), coined (or according to some popularised) the term “virtual reality”. The research area now had a name. A major development in the area of virtual reality haptics. -
NASA Gets Into VR
NASA, with the help of a Crystal River Engineering, creates Project VIEW. A VR sim used to train astronauts. VIEW looks recognizable as a modern example of VR and features gloves for fine simulation of touch interaction. Interestingly, the technology in these gloves leads directly to the creation of the Nintendo Power Glove.
Then comes Project VIVED -
The Lawnmower Man
The Lawnmower Man movie introduced the concept of virtual reality to a wider audience. It was in part based on the founder of Virtual Reality Jaron Lanier and his early laboratory days. Jaron was played by Pierce Brosnan, a scientist who used virtual reality therapy on a mentally disabled patient. Real virtual reality equipment from VPL research labs was used in the film and the director Brett Leonard, admited to drawing inspiration from companies like VPL. -
Parution du livre Le samouraï virtuel
Snow Crash en anglais, est un roman de science fiction de Neal Stephenson, qualifié de post-cyberpunk. On lui devrait le concept de Métavers. Il s'agit d'un monde privatif reproduisant ou structurant un système politique complet dans lequel le code informatique fait office de Loi. -
SEGA announce new VR glasses
Annoncement of the Sega VR headset for the Sega Genesis console in 1993.The wrap-around protoype glasses had head tracking, stereo sound and LCD screens in the visor. Sega fully intended to release the product at a price point of about $200 at the time, or about $322 in 2015 money. However, technical development difficulties meant that the device would forever remain in the prototype phase despite having developed 4 games for this product. This was a huge flop for Sega. -
The Matrix
In 1999 the Wachowski siblings’ film The Matrix hits theatres. The film features characters that are living in a fully simulated world, with many completely unaware that they do not live in the real world. Although some previous films had dabbled in depicting virtual reality, such as Tron in 1982 and Lawnmower Man in 1992, The Matrix has a major cultural impact and brought the topic of simulated reality into the mainstream. -
Sortie du jeu Second Life
Second Life (SL) est un métavers, un univers virtuel persistant, en trois dimensions sorti en 2003 et gratuit. Ce logiciel permet à ses utilisateurs d'incarner des personnages virtuels dans un monde créé par les résidents eux-mêmes. -
The Oculus Kickstarter
Palmer Lucky launches a Kickstarter to fund the product and development of his prototype headset, the Rift. The campaign raises almost 2.5 million dollars and is a clear dividing line between the commercial failures of consumer VR in the past and the modern VR revolution.
Prototype in 2010 -
Facebook Buys Oculus and Sony Announced their VR Project
Facebook inc. buys Oculus for 2 billin dollars.
This is a bumper year, also seeing the launch of Google Cardboard, PSVR and the Samsung Gear VR. Virtual Reality is suddenly a very hot topic. -
Adaptation cinématographique de Ready Player One
Adapté du roman de science fiction d'Ernest Cline et sorti en 2011 (best seller à sa sortie), Ready Player One est un film a gros budget réalisé par Steven Spielberg. L'univers dystopique est proche de celui proposé dans le neuromancien -
Meta lance son métavers Horizon World
Horizon Worlds, le métavers de Meta, vient de débarquer en France. Avec un casque de réalité virtuelle Quest, les internautes peuvent visiter des mondes numériques. Il est aussi possible de concevoir son propre espace. En dépit des scandales et des pertes financières, Meta poursuit le déploiement de son ambitieux projet. -
Meta lance le nouveau casque pour la Réalité Mixte
2 caméras RVB avec 18 PPD pour une résolution de caméra réelle 4,5 fois supérieure, en couleur, par rapport au Quest 2. Vue haute-fidélité de votre environnement tout en voyant des objets virtuels dans votre espace physique. La projection de profondeur et la cartographie précises de la pièce vous permettent de vous déplacer librement et d’interagir avec les personnages ou objets virtuels qui se trouvent autour de vous. -
Sortie de l'Apple Vision Pro
Premier "Ordinateur Spatial", le casque de MR (Réalité Mixte) d'Apple est affiché au prix de 3499 Dollars américain.
Ce sont pas moins de douze caméras, cinq capteurs et six micros qui sont au service du Vision Pro.