The Past, Present, and Future of VR Technology

Have you ever wanted to swim with dolphins, see what it’s like to fly like a bird or maybe even see the beautiful southern lights everybody talks about? Well with the way VR is designed you can do all that and even more all in the comfort of your home. Virtual reality (VR) is not a new concept. It has been around since the last 1920s and with time it slowly became more realistic. VR technology has changed the way we view technology today, it can save a life and maybe one day it will allow users to experience the touch and feel of the virtual world.

In the past, VR was just a flight simulator created by Edward Link (1929). They needed a safe way to train pilots that were in the US military thus the Link Trainer the First Flight Simulator was created. It became the first example of a commercial flight simulator. It was controlled by motors that linked to the rubber and steering column to modify the pitch and roll. [1] A few years later, Morton Heilig invented the Sensorama. It was an arcade-style theatre cabinet that would stimulate all the senses, not just sight and sound.

It also featured stereo speakers, a stereoscopic 3D display, fans, smell generators and a vibrating chair. [2] The first actual development, however, was invented by a scientist called Ivan Sutherland in 1968. He invented what is now considered to be the first ever head-mounted display system for VR. Although with the nature of the tech, compared to the lightweight technology we have today, the headset was so heavy that it needed to be suspended from the ceiling. [3] These inventions have changed the way we view technology today. Presently, VR can be used for anything.

It can be used for training, entertainment, gaming, but most importantly it can be used to save lives. Some hospitals use VR to train staff while others use it to perform surgery. A surgeon in France was the first to successfully use a VR headset to remove a brain tumor. The patient was played a piece of VR software that active certain part of the brain that would normally be far too difficult to test. The operation, which was performed last month at Angers University Hospital in Western France, enabled surgeons to monitor the neural connections in the patient’s brain while removing the cancerous growth.

“In creating a completely artificial world for the patient, we could map certain zones and connections of his brain related to functions that we could not, up to now, easily test on the operating table,” comments Philippe Menei, a neurosurgeon at Angers University Hospital. [4] A study in 2016 was conducted to see if VR can improve patient experience in healthcare. The experiment was given to 70 from kids to women enduring labor pain or having other painful procedures such as episiotomy.

[5] Younger patient were more willing to test the system, but its older patient were the ones that were more amazed. In the future, VR could eventually impact all of the senses. Right now, VR has only limited to the users visual and auditory senses. The general manager of Dell’s gaming PC manufacturer Alienware, Frank Azor, said in an interview with TIME last year, “Once you begin catering to the rest of the senses, like what we feel body-wise, temperature-wise, and smell, the reality factor of virtual reality [becomes] stronger and the virtual piece begins to fade.” [6]

Cyberith is also trying to make this happen with its Virtualizer. The person is strapped into a frame and while in the frame they can jump, duck, walk, and even run. For gamers this the future for them. When you are walking within the frame, you are also moving inside the game. Sensors can project movement with a game weapon to the game, instead of the player having to use a classical game controller. This way, the game is controlled by a whole range of movements, including aiming and pulling the trigger.

VR headsets support this device and make for an even more realistic version of virtual reality. [7] Breaking the barrier between both worlds could be the next step big thing in VR. VR technology has changed the way we view technology today, it can save a life and maybe one day it will allow users to experience the touch and feel of the virtual world. We may have come a very long way from the time when the human neck couldn’t support a VR headset on its own and the world we could see through one was very far from reality – but it’s certain that we still have a very long way to go.

Works Cited

[1] BIBLIOGRAPHY Virtual Reality Society. (n.d.). Retrieved from History Of Virtual Reality: https://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality/history.html

[2] BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Virtual Reality Society. (n.d.). Retrieved from History Of Virtual Reality: https://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality/history.html

[3] BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Virtual Reality Society. (n.d.). Retrieved from History Of Virtual Reality: https://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality/history.html

[4] BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Smarter Living. (n.d.). Retrieved from Hospital uses VR headset to help with brain surgery: https://www.t3.com/news/hospital-uses-vr-headset-to-help-with-brain-surgery

[5] BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Hit Consultant. (2016, 06 30). Retrieved from How Virtual Reality Can Improve Patient Experience in Healthcare: http://hitconsultant.net/2016/06/30/virtual-reality-patient-experience/
BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033
[6] The Motley Fool. (2017, March 22). Retrieved from The Future of Virtual Reality: 5 Things to Know: https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/22/the-future-of-virtual-reality-5-things-to-know.aspx

BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 [7] Plarium. (n.d.). Retrieved from >The Future of Virtual Reality: https://plarium.com/en/mmo-games/vr-tech-future-of-virtual-reality/