The Evolution of Virtual Reality

While it might seem like something that has come out of the woodwork just recently. Virtual Reality has actually been around for a very long time. Maybe even a lot longer than you would think it has. In fact, the first Virtual Reality machine was invented all the way back in 1956 by Morton L. Heilig.

Heilig called the machine “Sensorama” and the features included in the machine were surround sound speakers and a 3D visual. He patented the machine in 1962 and even made his own films and movies with the machine that he edited and released all by himself.

Moving up about 40 years later, SEGA released a Virtual Reality headset that is connected to a controller. This would allow people to play their favorite SEGA games in a 3D imagined world that was stuck onto their faces so everything around them would not take their focus away from the game. This machine also came with enhanced sound effects.

Seeing how well everyone reacted to SEGA’s version of Virtual Reality, Nintendo wanted to put their hat into the ring and came out with the Nintendo Virtual Boy in 1996. This had all of the same features as SEGA’s model and was priced around $180 dollars.

From this point forward, everyone started to realize how educational and helpful Virtual Reality technology could be for other people. In 2007, research facilities tried using a Virtual war zone video to help Veterans who suffer from PTSD heal. These Veterans had already tried many different techniques before but the Virtual War Zone was more helpful than any of the other methods they had tried.

Once that study worked, people started to create programs to train students in certain lines of work. In 2008 they set up a way to teach students and other people how to operate and work in certain conditions and how to help people in need.

Getting into the more recent years, 2014 Facebook released an Oculus. This was one of the simpler versions of Virtual Reality, it limited a lot of it’s use as far as games go, but it included a lot of videos and adventures you could go on for a cheaper price than the other headsets on the market.

In 2019 there are currently dozens of different Virtual Reality headsets that you can choose from, all of them falling into different price bins. If you want a more realistic experience, there are headsets that come with hand and finger movement options. If you want something simple, There’s Facebook’s Oculus.

Technology has advanced since Virtual Reality first became a reality, the future is full of uncertainty and we’re excited to see what happens next with VR.