Virtual reality was not invented by one person in one day. It is the result of the work of several generations of engineers and artists who gradually moved towards the idea of complete immersion.

From Sensorma to the First Headset

The first step was Morton Heilig, often called the father of virtual reality. In 1957, he created the Sensorma — a bulky device resembling an arcade machine. It affected all the senses: it showed a 3D image, vibrated, blew wind, and even sprayed scents. Heilig also patented the telesphere mask — a prototype of the modern virtual reality headset.

However, the real breakthrough was made by Ivan Sutherland. In 1968, along with his student Bob Sproull, he created the Damocles sword — the first in the world virtual reality headset connected to a computer. It was so heavy that it had to be hung from the ceiling. It was Sutherland who formulated the key idea: the computer screen is not just a monitor, but a window into the virtual world.

Term and Commerce

The term virtual reality only appeared in 1987. It was coined by Jaron Lanier, the founder of a company involved in equipment development. He, along with Tom Zimmerman, created the first commercial virtual reality goggles and the famous glove that allowed interaction with virtual objects with hands.

This way, the path to virtual reality began with optical illusions of the 19th century, passed through Heilig's sensory simulators and Sutherland's computer headsets, and took shape into an industry thanks to Lanier.

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