Early developments

While not the primary point of the story, a simulated reality is featured prominently in the Allegory of the Cave by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato^[1][2][3] around 360 B.C.E.^[4] While not VR as it is known today, the story not only shows the existence of simulated realities as a concept long before the invention of multimedia technology, it also shows an uncanny understanding of some of the same ethical questions people would ask about addiction to virtual worlds thousands of years later.^[5][6] A similar concept also exists in Zhuangzi's ancient Daoist text the Butterfly Dream a third century B.C.E. story written in ancient China, though the method of simulation and lesson of the story are rather different.^[7]

Simple stereoscopic displays have attempted to to offer immersive experiences since 1838 with the invention of the Stereoscope in Britain.^[8][9] Rival Scottish physicist Sir David Brewster specialized in optics, having previously invented such things as the Kaleidoscope, and crafted a more refined and portable stereoscope.^[10][11]

During the 1950's and 1960's a number of attempts were made to create more immersive experiences.^[12]

• 
  An illustration of the Allegory of the Cave.
• 
  The Butterfly Dream
• 
  Illustration of a large Sir Charles Wheatstone stereoscope device, which used mirrors to project a 3D image.
• 
  A portable Sir David Brewster style stereoscope bears a striking resemblance to later head mounted displays.
• 
  A painting from before 1868 of ladies using a stereoscope.
• 
  A View Master display from the 1960's.

Prototype Technology of the 1980's and 1990's

During the Cold War there was a massive amount of Research and Development ongoing by both government and commercial agencies, which had a side effect of trickling down to consumers later, namely in Virtual Reality, and general advances in computing. During this time, a number of marketing attempts to promote the technology would be made.^[13] Though this technology would not see common consumer use in the 1980's and 1990's, it would form the basis for common gaming technologies decades later.

By 1992 there was a VR Golf center in New York City and a VR Mech Arcade in Chicago.^[14]

• 
  A 1985 Virtual Reality headset developed by NASA.
• 
  A VPL DataSuit 1 from 1989, an early commercial foray into Virtual Reality.
• 
  Virtual-Fixtures in 1992, the first immersive augmented reality system.
• 
  Augmented reality in 1999, being used on a Helicopter.
• 
  VFX1 Headset (1995)

Rebirth of Virtual Reality

The early 2010's saw a renewed interest in VR with crowdfunding platforms providing capital to spur development.^[15][16] The mid 2010's saw large corporations begin to push into the field with their own entries in VR, AR, and MR.^[17][18][19]

VR technology became a popular theme in science fiction around this time, and VR games were frequently used as a plot device in non-gaming media as a way of taking characters to another world with a more scientifically plausible technology. Popular fictional stories of the 2010's such as Ernest Cline's 2011 novel Ready Player One and Steven Spielberg's 2018 film of the same name^[20] and Sword Art Online^[21] prominently feature VR in their stories. Such fictional works in turn influenced VR content creators during this time, who strove to bring fiction to virtual reality.^[22][23]

Around 2016 and 2017 media outlets began frequently expressing concern about the safety of VR.^[24][25]

References