In 1838, English physicist and inventor Charles Wheatstone revolutionized the way people perceived images with his invention of the stereoscope. This groundbreaking device, based on the principle of binocular vision, allowed viewers to perceive three-dimensional images by combining two slightly different pictures taken from slightly different angles.
Wheatstone's stereoscope consisted of a pair of mirrors mounted in a box. The mirrors reflected two identical images of the same object placed in front of them, but from slightly different angles. When the viewer looked through the mirrors, their eyes received two separate images of the object, which the brain fused into a single three-dimensional image.
Already in Year 1935 Stanley G. Weinbaum's fictional short story „Pygmalion's Spectacles“ described the idea of glasses that would transport the wearer into an immersive virtual world. Although this story was purely fictional, it offered an early glimpse into the concept of technology that can alter users' reality. The ideas and concepts presented in this story laid the groundwork for the later development of virtual reality.
The image discs initially showed mostly travel destinations and scientific documentaries. Later, series on fairy tales, Walt Disney, animals, world travels, and other topics were added.
In addition to handheld devices, there were also slide projectors. The projector with the model designation „Stereomatic 500“ was the only one that could also project 3D images onto the screen.
In the Year 1961 Engineers Comeau and Bryan developed the Headsight, a head-mounted display (HMD) that enabled motion tracking for the first time. The Headsight was originally developed for military purposes, allowing for remote monitoring of dangerous situations. This HMD allowed the user to look around naturally in the virtual environment by using head movements to control a remote camera. Although the Headsight was not specifically designed for virtual reality applications, it laid the groundwork for the further development of HMDs.
In the Year 1965 Ivan Sutherland presented the concept of the „Ultimate Display,“ which was intended to create a virtual world through HMDs and realistic 3D sound. He described a future where a user would no longer be able to distinguish between the real and virtual world. Three years later, Sutherland developed the „Sword of Damocles,“ the first HMD connected to a computer that could display a virtual object, a floating wireframe cube. Although the „Sword of Damocles“ was too heavy for a user and had to be suspended from the ceiling, it marked a crucial step towards today's VR headsets.
2012 – The Oculus Kickstarter Palmer Lucky launches a Kickstarter campaign to fund the product development and his prototype of the headset, the Rift. The campaign raises close to $2.5 million dollars and marks a clear dividing line between VR's past consumer commercial failures and the modern VR revolution. 2014 – Facebook buys Oculus and Sony announces its VR project The social media giant recognizes the potential of Oculus technology, buying the company and making Lucky incredibly rich. This is a successful year, which also sees the Google Cardboard, PSVR, and the Samsung Gear VR are released. Virtual reality is suddenly a very hot topic. This year, Sony also announced that they are working on a VR accessory for the popular PS4 console. The PS4 is much less powerful than VR-capable computers of the time, so everyone is quite curious how they will implement it.
In 2018, the trend towards standalone VR headsets like the Oculus Go Through. These headsets do not require a computer or smartphone to function. This makes them significantly more powerful than VR headsets powered by smartphones.
The Oculus Go, released by Facebook in May 2018, was the first successful standalone VR headset on the market. The headset features a 5.5-inch display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels per eye. It is powered by a Snapdragon 821 processor and 3GB of RAM. The Oculus Go offers good image quality and a smooth 60Hz refresh rate.
The Oculus Quest is a standalone VR headset released by Facebook in May 2019. The headset is a successor to the Oculus Go and offers significantly improved performance and functionality.
The Oculus Quest features a 5.7-inch display with a resolution of 1440 x 1600 pixels per eye. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and 4GB of RAM. The Oculus Quest offers excellent visual quality, a smooth 72Hz refresh rate, and high motion accuracy thanks to built-in positional tracking.
The Oculus Quest was an instant success, selling over 1 million units in its first six months on the market.
Apple's Vision Pro is set to be available in 2025. Apple's long-awaited headset combines VR and AR capabilities and boasts impressive specifications. Whether the headset can meet the high expectations remains to be seen.
The VR industry is growing steadily and has already generated considerable revenue. In 2020, approximately $6.7 billion in revenue was generated worldwide from VR hardware and software. This revenue is expected to increase to over $16 billion by 2023. The gaming sector is one of the main drivers of the VR market, with an estimated revenue of around $589 million in 2020. This revenue is expected to rise to over $4 billion by 2025. VR is also increasingly being used in other areas such as healthcare, education, real estate, tourism, and industry.
The future of virtual reality holds many exciting developments. Forecasts and assessments regarding the future development of VR are promising. VR technologies are expected to be continuously improved, and new areas of application will be explored. The development of more powerful and affordable HMDs will contribute to making virtual reality accessible to a broader audience. VR is expected to continue to grow strongly in areas such as medicine, training and simulation, architecture and design, and entertainment. The integration of VR with other emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, 5G, and haptics will also have a significant impact.
The history of virtual reality is marked by groundbreaking inventions, setbacks, and steady progress. From its earliest beginnings in the 19th century to today's cutting-edge technology, virtual reality has evolved into a fascinating and promising field. The future of virtual reality is ripe with potential, promising many more exciting developments. It will be exciting to see how VR technology continues to evolve in the coming years.
Are you interested in developing a virtual reality or 360° application? You may still have questions about budget and implementation. Feel free to contact me.
I am looking forward to you
Clarence Dadson CEO Design4real
