When Virtual Reality Was Always Virtual
Nothing New Under the Sun!
It's 1985 and there's already a nice high resolution, wide field of view VR helmet (from VPL Research), glove system, and 6 DOF tracking of both helmet and glove, thanks to Scott Fisher and NASA Ames. In particular, check out the LEEP...
Victormaxx Stuntmaster vs. PETA and a Teardown!
This totally excellent demo of the Victormaxx Stuntmaster helmet speaks for itself. Lyme disease aside, the Stuntmaster's wretched optical qualities seem overly cruel to this beast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r58xRwqH_po And...
Yet Another Fashion Emergency – J D Roth Talks Virtuality on GamePro TV
The ill fated GamePro TV did a 1991 "Cutting Edge" feature on the original Virtuality arcade systems, including footage from their premier multi-player Dactyl Nightmare title. Be careful not to fry your eyeballs on host J.D. Roth's outfit; did...
Limitations and Drawbacks
Nina Ziv's 1992 Merrill Lynch VR industry research report has an amusing section: Limitations and Drawbacks of VR Technology, in which she identifies "several problems with virtual reality technology which must be addressed if it is to...
Warning Will Robinson, Warning!
Flashback to 1992. My Silicon Graphics rep, Len, walks in the door with a guy from Sportland, a mega entertainment center down near the auto-malls north of Philadelphia. You know: pizza, birthday parties, arcade games, bumper cars,...
Aftershock and a Fashion Emergency
On it's way to the Whistlestop, this VR system (1 of 10 on tour) makes a stop at Louisville's channel 32 early, early morning show. Perfect makeup notwithstanding, I don't think the host was thinking that anything below the belt would be on...
Meet My Friend “Ralph”
Simulator Sickness and the lingering effects of Virtual Reality, drunken behavior in particular, are the subject of this Brian Williams NBC special from 1996. Brian's teaser: "When they were first unveiled, the science of it all was staggering,...
Regis Takes a Spin
You know the wave has crested when Regis and Kathie Lee make your specialty an early morning featurette. Reeg hams it up beautifully. If it hadn't been for that 3:30am load in, it might have been perfect. Dave Polinchock provides expert...
Fear of Flying? Try the Forte VFX-1
1994 brought a fully packaged consumer head mount, the Forte-VFX-1 Brochure. Stereoscopic and with head tracking included, it somehow found it's way into the hands of psychologist Les Posen who employed this device to treat patients with...
Take Flight in the Virtual World
By 1991, the FlightHelmet was the third HMD to feature Large Expanse Extra Perspective (LEEP) optics from Eric Howlett's LEEP-VR. The Flight Helmet combined LEEP's 100° field of view with an adjustable, comfortable and rugged packaging design. The...
Urinated in His Pants?
Proving that VR doesn't automatically lead to hurling the intrepid subject of this 1995 video wolfs down a cornucopia of fast food and hops on some VR games at Toronto's CN Tower. The manager of the arcade facility prevaricates a bit, telling...
Arcade “Player Retainer” – HeadGames VR2000
IAPPA 1999 brought us another stand-up VR system from New York based HeadGames, the VR2000. Based on the Forte consumer head mounted display, the VR2000 also featured the "Player Retainer." Initially I thought this was some special magic which...