The term "virtual" has had the meaning of "being something in essence or effect, though not actually or in fact" since the mid-1400s. In 1938, French playwright Antonin Artaud described the illusory nature of theatre as "la réalité virtuelle". The term "artificial reality" was coined by Myron Krueger in the 1970s, and "virtual reality" first appeared in science fiction in the 1982 novel The Judas Mandala. Widespread adoption of the term is attributed to Jaron Lanier, who designed some of the first business-grade virtual reality hardware in the late 1980s.
One method of realizing virtual reality is through simulation-based virtual reality, such as driving simulators. Avatar image-based virtual reality allows people to join a virtual environment as real video or an avatar. Desktop-based virtual reality displays a 3D virtual world on a regular display without specialized tracking equipment. A head-mounted display (HMD) more fully immerses the user in a virtual world, incorporating stereoscopic graphics, binaural audio, and positional tracking. Augmented reality blends the user’s view of the real surroundings with digital content, while mixed reality merges the real and virtual worlds.
Early precursors to virtual reality include the development of perspective in Renaissance art and the stereoscope invented by Sir Charles Wheatstone. In the 1950s, Morton Heilig described an "Experience Theatre" encompassing all the senses, and built a prototype called the Sensorama in 1962. In 1968, Ivan Sutherland created what was widely considered the first head-mounted display system, called The Sword of Damocles.
From 1970 to 1990, the virtual reality industry primarily provided VR devices for medical, flight simulation, automobile industry design, and military training. David Em created navigable virtual worlds at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1977 to 1984. The Aspen Movie Map, a virtual tour of Aspen, was created at MIT in 1978. Eric Howlett developed the Large Expanse, Extra Perspective (LEEP) optical system in 1979, which provided a wide field of view and realism. By the late 1980s, Jaron Lanier popularized the term "virtual reality" and founded VPL Research, developing devices like the DataGlove. Atari founded a virtual reality research lab in 1982, but it was closed after two years.
The 1990s saw the first widespread commercial releases of consumer headsets. Sega announced the Sega VR headset for the Mega Drive in 1991, and Virtuality launched the first mass-produced, networked, multiplayer VR entertainment system. In 1991, Carolina Cruz-Neira, Daniel J. Sandin, and Thomas A. DeFanti created the first cubic immersive room, the Cave automatic virtual environment (CAVE). Antonio Medina designed a virtual reality system to "drive" Mars rovers from Earth in 1992. Nicole Stenger created Angels, the first real-time interactive immersive movie, in 1992. That same year, Louis Rosenberg created the virtual fixtures system, enabling augmented reality with sight, sound, and touch. In 1994, Sega released the VR-1 motion simulator ride attraction and the Net Merc arcade game. Nintendo released the Virtual Boy console in 1995. In 1999, Philip Rosedale formed Linden Lab, initially focused on VR hardware, which later became the program Second Life.
The 2000s saw a period of relative public and investment indifference to commercially available VR technologies. In 2007, Google introduced Street View. In 2010, Palmer Luckey designed the first prototype of the Oculus Rift. Facebook purchased Oculus VR in 2014. Valve discovered and shared the breakthrough of low-persistence displays in 2013. HTC and Valve announced the HTC Vive in 2015. Sony announced Project Morpheus (PlayStation VR) in 2014. Google released Cardboard in 2015.
By 2016, there were at least 230 companies developing VR-related products. HTC shipped the HTC Vive in 2016. Sony released the PlayStation VR2 in 2023. Meta released the Oculus Rift S and Oculus Quest in 2019, and the Meta Quest 2 in 2020. In 2024, Apple released the Apple Vision Pro. In 2024, the FAA approved Loft Dynamics’ virtual reality flight simulation training device.
Modern virtual reality headsets use displays, gyroscopes, and motion sensors. Independent production of VR images and video has increased alongside the development of omnidirectional cameras. A common side effect of VR use is motion sickness, caused by a disconnect between what is seen and what the body perceives (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality_sickness).
Virtual reality is used in entertainment, social sciences, medicine, business, and education. Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) is a therapeutic intervention for anxiety disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/virtual-reality-exposure-therapy-overview). VR is increasingly used in concerts and museums, and presents an opportunity for digital marketing. It has also been discussed as a technological setting that may support people's grieving process.
Virtual reality has emerged as a significant tool in medical training and education. VR surgical environments allow trainees to practice without risk to patients, improving technical performance and skills. VR systems allow surgeons to see virtual prototypes and access CT scans while keeping their eyes on a patient.