The First Virtual Reality Headset (1968)

When people talk about virtual reality, they often assume it's a relatively recent concept—say, the last 35 years. But anyone interested in its origins has to go back to the Space Age. In 1968, scientist Ivan Sutherland (father of computer graphics) and his student Bob Sproull created the Sword of Damocles, a platform that generated virtual environments with wireframe graphics and used a helmet literally attached to the ceiling.

The good news is that the presence of computers compatible with the main virtual reality headsets on the market has become more widespread. The bad news is that there was never a contagion effect toward the headsets themselves. Only 0.8 percent of Steam users report a virtual reality headset, and the problems affecting their evolution are numerous, but one of the top issues is comfort: cables are annoying, and headsets are heavy. That means modern units still have a lot in common with the earliest developments in the field. Want proof? Then set your time machine to 1968 and locate, at MIT, the first virtual reality headset: the Sword of Damocles.

The Sword of Damocles: The First Virtual Reality Headset

The Sword of Damocles was a creation of Ivan Sutherland, pioneer of computer-generated graphics, who designed the Sketchpad platform, and his student Bob Sproull, who later participated in the development of the Xerox Alto. The Sword was not merely a screen in front of the user's eyes. Head tracking was complete, so the software could modify the perspective of the virtual environment following the direction in which the user looked. Graphically, the Sword of Damocles never surpassed wireframe, and its first application was nothing more than a floating 3D cube. Another detail worth noting is that the stereoscopic system was semi-transparent, meaning the user never lost sight of the room.

Granted, seeing the Sword of Damocles in action was impressive for that era, and being connected to the ceiling didn't cause too many problems. In fact, the first limitation of the Sword appeared through performance, since the systems of 1968 didn't have enough firepower. More than half a century later, we're still struggling with very similar demons. The next generation of headsets must be lightweight, wireless, and bombard the user with three-digit frames. Will we get there?