Virtual Reality History

1. Virtual Reality History CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

2. First, some class stuff • Paper critique on Friday • Look on web page CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

3. Today’s Goals • Provide some historical context. • Where did VR technology come from? • What applications drove its development? • Who are some luminaries in the field? CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

4. Early History • Remarkably, VR concepts predate computer graphics and modern VR (HMD, tracking, etc.) arose simultaneously with computer imagery. CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

5. Early History Cont’d… • Prehistory • Cave paintings • Some researchers believe that the images animate when shown with flickering torch light! • 3000BC - Egyptians • First lenses • 3000BC – Asian shadow play • ~450BC – Mo Tzu • Pinhole projection onto screen • ~300BC – Euclid • Writes The Optics • 200AD in China or 1515 – Da Vinci • Magic lantern projector? From http://www.precinemahistory.net CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

6. Early History Cont’d… • 1671 – Kircher • Magic lantern • A later example • 1674 – de Chales • Successive glass slides • 1830s -Stroboscope • 1838 – Wheatstone • Stereo viewer CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson From http://www.precinemahistory.net

7. Early History Cont’d… • 1860s – zoetrope • 1879 – • Zoopraxiscope • Painted images on disc • Movies • 1888 – first movie • 1895: Skladanowsky – Bioscop • 1895: Lumiere –Cinematographe • 1896: Edison – Vitascope • 1902 – special effects • A Trip to the Moon • start 8:38 From http://www.precinemahistory.net CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

8. Early History Cont’d… • 1916 – Pratt • Head-mounted periscope display and gun • Augmented reality precursor CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

9. Early History Cont’d… • 1929 – Link • Mechanical flight simulator CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

10. Early History Cont’d… • 1956 – Heilig • Sensorama • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSINEBZNCks • Multimodal display of a motorcycle ride through Brooklyn • Sight • Sound • Smell • Vibration • 1957 HMD patent CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

11. Early History Cont’d… • 1961 – Philco • Telepresence with a HMD • Remote camera • Magnetic head tracker • Single CRT CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

12. Birth of Modern VR • 1963 – Sutherland • Interactive graphics • Sketchpad • 1965 – Ultimate display paper • 1968 • A Head-mounted Three-Dimensional Display • 1970 – Krueger • Videoplace - movie • 1974 – Jim Clark • Ph.D. on HMD’s CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

13. The Next Wave • 1980’s – Scott Fisher (NASA-Ames) • VIEW project – • movies – start 2:05 • 1980’s – Jaron Lanier • “Virtual Reality” • Tom Furness • Super cockpit CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

14. More displays • 90s - Fakespace boom • High resolution • ergonomic CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

15. Force-feedback Interfaces Haptic Display Grope III The Force-Feedback Project, which began in 1967, first focused on the development of a system to support scientific visualization in the area of molecular docking, the Docker application. This application provides graphic (wire-frame) representations of molecules and their inter-atomic forces to allow a user to adjust the relative position and orientation of molecules while searching for minimum energy binding sites. A series of systems have been developed, evolving from a 2-D system, through a 3-D system and a 6-D system for a simple docking task, to a full 6-D molecular docking system called GROPE-III. These later systems have employed a modified Model E-3 Argonne Remote Manipulator (ARM). © Fred Brooks, University of North Carolina CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

16. Gloves • 1977 – Sayre • Light tube attenuation to measure bend • 1981 – Grimes (Bell) • Bend, tactile sensors • 1984 – VPL • VPL DataGlove • 1993 Utah/MIT • Dextrous Hand Master (Hollerbach) Dextrous Hand Master, Exos CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

17. CAVE displays • 1992 – EVL • Users in a projected room • CAVE movie CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

18. CAVE displays CyberSphere (1998) The scientists Eyre and Eureka in VR-Systems UK have been researching a CyberSphere, a device, which consists of a large, translucent sphere containing the user. The images are distortion-corrected and then projected on the surface of the sphere, allowing the user a full 360 degree field of view. It also allows the user to move around in the world, by walking inside the ball, which will move in response to the users movements. Movie © VR-Systems, United Kingdom CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

19. Companies • 1984 – VPL • 1987 – Polhemus • 1989 – Division • Bought tech from UNC-CH • 1989 – Mattel • Nintendo powerglove • 1990 – W • VR arcade CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

20. Current Companies • Sensics • Intersense • Raytheon • Nintendo • Track-IR CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson

21. Summary • Entertainment has often driven “immersive” advances • The dream of a VR space has a long history • High-quality elements of VR are now consumer products CS6360 – Virtual Reality David Johnson