|
Scott Fisher's seminal research in virtual reality
was conducted in the late 1980s at the NASA-Ames Research Center
in Mountain View, California, where he worked on the Virtual
Environment Workstation (VIEW) project. Fisher set out to develop
an interface that would engage all the senses, thrusting the
viewer into a realm of full sensory immersion. The NASA system
included an updated version of the head-mounted display, with
stereoscopic images that provided stereoscopic depth of field,
a major advancement over the monoscopic vision of Ivan
Sutherland's earlier device. Fisher added headphones for
3D audio, a microphone for speech recognition, and, in collaboration
with Tom Zimmerman, adapted the "dataglove" – the wired
glove worn by the user that makes it possible to grasp virtual
objects in cyberspace.
This multi-sensory interaction with cybernetic
devices created the powerful illusion of entering a digitized
landscape. By pursing Morton Heilig's
concept of experience theater, Fisher made a significant advance
toward what he termed "telepresence" – the projection of
the self into a virtual world.
|
