From science fiction to (virtual) reality

What started off as sci-fi fantasy in the 1930s has been lifted off the page and unfolded into a practical reality used in a range of applications from medicine to military, telecommunication to tourism and education to entertainment.

The first ideas of virtual reality (VR) were conceived by science fiction writer Stanley Weinbaum with his release of the short story Pygmalion's Spectacles in 1935. In this adventure tale, the main character, Dan, is transported out of his hotel room to another world via some fantastical eye liquid and a pair of goggles.

"Unbelieving, still gripping the arms of that unseen chair, [Dan] was staring at a forest. ... He sat frozen, entranced. For a moment he forgot the chair whose arms he gripped, the miserable hotel room invisibly about him. ... To his eyes the ground was mossy verdure; to his touch it was merely a thin hotel carpet." 

However, the technical basis of VR began a century earlier with Sir Charles Wheatstone's research into binocular vision and stereoscopy in the 1830s. Wheatstone's studies showed that the brain combines two 2D images (one for each eye) of the same object from different perspectives to provide depth so the image appears 3D.

Wheatstone's technical research and Weinbaum's visionary ideas formed the basis for a generation of VR contraptions.

In 1956 the first fully immersive (video, audio, smell, vibrations, wind) VR machine "Sensorama - Cinema of the future" was launched.  But it wasn't until the second half of the century that VR permeated into different industries.  For example, aerospace applications like aeroplane flight simulators, astronaut training and remotely-controlling Mars robots in the 70s and 80s, followed by the 90s gaming boom and military applications such as Virtual Vietnam in 1997.  

Fast forward to the 2010s and hundreds of companies were experimenting with a multitude of VR products. This has only increased in the last year as working remotely has become more common.  Australia is very much part of this new wave of technology, developing VR products in diverse industries including agriculture, medicine and tourism.  

For example, an Australian start-up has partnered with the makers of Fortnite to train paramedics using a VR headset and hand controllers to simulate different emergency scenarios.  Three years in the marking, the technology is now used by the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Department of Defence amongst others and hoping to expand to other emergency services boht in Australia and internationally.

In Brisbane, a surgeon has drawn on VR images to perform a complicated shoulder reconstruction.  Doctors and engineers worked together to take 3D images of the patient's shoulder and then convert the images into holograms the surgeon could see in the operating theatre.  The VR images provide extra detail to help guide the surgeon through the operation.

A hospital in the Sunshine Coast is using VR games in the rehabilitation program of patients with cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis and patients who have suffered strokes. The VR technology challenges patients' brains as well as their physical abilities and has shown positive results in patients who have not responded well to traditional treatment. In addition, the VR technology gives extra and immediate data to doctors to help them assess when the patient needs a real life follow up appointment. The hospital is now partnering with four local schools to help children with learning disabilities to improve their physical and learning abilities.

In the agriculture industry, a VR scenario is helping students practice cattle handling skills without risk of injury. The VR scenario prompts students to move cattle from one yard to another, improving student confidence and safety before they work with real live animals. Similar VR and AR (augmented reality where a computer-generated image is superimposed onto the users view of the real world, providing a composite or augmented view) technology helps agriculture students practice surgical techniques, pregnancy testing and post-mortems.

Another application of VR comes from the regional town of Charles Towers.  The Charles Towers Regional Council uses a virtual and augmented reality app to help visitors learn about the historical town of Charles Towers, which was Queensland's second largest city during the gold rush and a US Army base during WsWII. The app allows visitors the chance to experience a virtual bomber squadron flyover, a tour of old military bunkers, and to examine military artefacts to the public and is just one example of high tech tourism. For a breath-taking experience of other high tech tourism and an insight into the future of travel holidays see here.

VR has morphed from a sci-fi fantasy of Pygmalion's Spectacles to a plethora of fully immersive experiences today through the lens of various VR goggles, yet the future of VR still remains to be seen.  

Other sources of interest:

Pygmalion's Spectacles, STANLEY WEINBAUM, 1935

Virtual Reality Applications, 2017

History of VR - Timeline of Events and Tech Development, DOM BARNARD, 2019

Virtual reality PTSD treatment has 'big impact' for veterans, TOMOS MORGAN, 2019

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