When Virtual Reality Was Always Virtual
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...
Narrow Field of View is Good… – CyberEye 100
1994 brought one of the first "lightweight" head mounted displays, the CyberEye from then San Jose based General Reality. Offered in both stereoscopic and monoscopic versions, the CyberEye featured a flip-up visor which allowed users to see...
Display Mounted Head? – Kimera
The Kimera game system from Immersive Technologies appeared at the 1995 IAAPA show with a solution to the VR arcade's most vexing challenge: how to keep the helmets from being damaged or stolen without a full time attendant. Taking their cue...
6 lbs. 12 oz. – It’s a Baby Headmount! – Liquid Image MRG2
The product slick offers a virtually indestructible carry case. I'm not completely sure why, as the Liquid Image MRG2 helmet shell, constructed of multi-layer fiberglass, was non-virtually (i.e. real-world) indestructible. The MRG2 was actually...
Another Gyro VR – Orbotron X O Tron VR
1995 brought us yet another Gyro based VR Game system, the X-O-Tron VR, a descendant of the original non-electronic gyro-exercise system, the Orbotron. Initially inspired by the March 1992 release of Lawnmower Man, the first gyro VR systems...
Myron Kruger Takes a Spin in the Flight Helmet
"Virtual Reality Systems '93" in the Hyatt above Grand Central Station was the end of the line for this trade show, as it was for the Virtual Research Flight Helmet which was soon to be superseded by lighter and more manufacturable HMDs. In the...
What to do with the Cable? – Dynamic Visions
If you've ever tried out Virtual Reality, the FIRST thing you'll feel is the tug of the helmet cable as you virtually (and actually) try to walk down the path. Many HMDs use the weight of a rear exiting cable as a counter-weight to offset the...
A Sweet Ride – IAAPA ’94
By 1994 the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) exhibition floor was packed with VR systems. As a potential marketplace, blood was in the water and you couldn't tell the fish from the sharks. With a very few exceptions most...
All Brawn – Virtuality 1000CS HMD
VR hit the arcades (at least in England) with the 1991 debut of the Virtuality 1000CS and Dactyl Nightmare. The helmet was rugged, but simply massive, with two Romex style cables to power it up. If you've ever wondered why the HMD was such a...
Redefining Power Tools – CyberSM
As sex-suits go, these are pretty weeee-id! All shiny leather and chrome, this cybersex system haptically connects our happy couple over dial-up all the way from Cologne to Paris and back. If you somehow missed the "SM" in CyberSM (and here),...