Ivan Sutherland

Virtual Reality
Overview

"The Ultimate Display" [1965]

Sketchpad system was invented In 1963, the first significant contribution has made by Ivan Sutherland.

• first program that allowed the user to create graphical images directly on the computer screen

• has magnetic tape storage, a Xerox printer, and an 9 inch CRT

• create engineering drawings directly on the screen with a light pen

Types of computer inputs

• Typewrite keyboards --- inexpensive, reliable, and produce easily transmitted signal

• Light pen, RAND Tablet stylus(1964)---- useful in displaying items and in drawing or printing for input to the computer

• Knobs, Joysticks --- useful in adjusting parameters of computation

• Push buttons, syllable voice input

kinesthetic display : allows one to use all their senses to interact with and gain knowledge from a computer.

• Data visualization "A display connected to a digital computer ... is like a looking glass into a mathematical wonderland" (Ivan Sutherland)

• Realism: "A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in. Handcuffs displayed in such a room would be confining, and a bullet displayed in such a room would be fatal." (Ivan Sutherland)

• Beyond Reality: "There is no reason why the objects displayed by a computer have to follow ordinary rules of physical reality with which we are familiar" (Ivan Sutherland)
  

 

1966 "Sword of Damocles" head-mounted display was invented by Sutherland

related links

History of HMD

HMD/headset/VR-helmet Comparison Chart

VR Input and feeback devices