The Evolution of Augmented Reality

First Head-Mounted Display System

1968

Ivan Sutherland developed the first head-mounted display system. The system used computer-generated graphics to show users simple wire-frame drawings.

Videoplace

1974

Myron Krueger built an 'artificial reality' lab called the Videoplace. The Videoplace combined projectors with video cameras that transmitted silhouettes to screens, surrounding users in an interactive realm.

Coined the term 'Augmented Reality'

1990

Tom Caudell, a boeing researcher, first uses the term.

Virtual Fixers

1992

Louis Rosenberg develops Virtual Fixers - one of the earliest functioning Augmented Reality systems, built for the airforce.The full upper-body exoskeleton allowed the military to direct machinery from a remote operating space.

'Dancing in Cyberspace'

1994

Julie Martin creates the first augmented reality theatre production, featuring acrobats dancing in and around virtual objects on their physical stages.

Battlefield Augmented Reality System (BARS)

1999

Naval researchers begin working on BARS - the original model of wearable units for soldiers.

ARToolKit

2000

Hirokazu Kato creates the ARToolKit - an open source software library that uses video tracking to overlay computer graphics on a video camera.

Volkswagen MARTA app

2013

The MARTA (Mobile Augmented Reality Technical Assistance) provides virtual step-by-step repair assistance, allowing service technicians to foresee how a repair process will look on the vehicle in front of them.

Google Glass

2014

Google announces shipment of Google Glass devices for consumers, thus cementing the trend of wearable augmented reality.

Microsoft Hololens

2016

Microsoft HoloLens is the first self-contained, holographic computer, enabling you to engage with your digital content and interact with holograms in the world around you. It has been available for pre-order since 2016.