The Wacky World of VR in the 80s and 90s

This mid-to-late 1980s NASA photo illustrates the perceived future of virtual reality—a world in which millions of people stand around staring at their hands. Amazingly, NASA actually got it right, but with the wrong technology: Some 30 years later, people do this every day, but only while holding a smartphone. And they're usually looking at themselves, too.

(Photo: NASA)

To illustrate the marketing campaign for Forte Technology's VFX1 headset (1995), the company hired a hip-looking fellow in skintight bronze pants to wander the streets of what looks like Germany, or perhaps London, and crouch and make weird gesticulations. Traumatized passers-by still wonder what they saw that day. Later, Forte also hired a model to wear silver spandex and act like a VR scarecrow, scaring away many potential customers during a rock video shoot.

(Photo: Forte Technologies)

Around 1991, a firm called Virtuality introduced an arcade gaming system that used a stereoscopic headset and some fancy hand controllers. Here we see a dramatization of an exciting Virtuality simulation that offered all the fun of an ocean adventure without any of the usual drowning that would typically occur during an unequipped underwater expedition.

(Photo: Virtuality)

In the 1990s, Virtuality was not content to merely simulate shooting things, the ocean, or shooting things in the ocean. It also simulated driving a Kawasaki motorcycle, complete with a real, full-sized motorcycle that the nearest publicity model could sit upon and drive through the virtual streets of a major metropolitan area. Best of all, it worked in conjunction with an innovative new desk that made computers overheat 60 percent faster than competing desk brands.

(Photo: Virtuality)

In virtual space, no one can hear you scream—unless you're wearing a headset mic, of course, as these 1985 photos demonstrate. According to most reports, these photos document a fairly typical training session: One minute she is busy fixing the Bivalve Rotary Regulator Cell on the Space Shuttle, and the next thing you know, she's fixing the Bivalve Rotary Regulator Cell on the Space Shuttle while being chased by an alien with 1,000 teeth (difficult space working conditions are frequently simulated at NASA). Unrelatedly, NASA engineers also pinned her hair to the wall to simulate weightlessness.

(Photo: NASA)

As my grandfather always said, "The only thing better than skiing is not skiing." And that's exactly what these two wise engineers at NEC in Tokyo are seen doing in this candid 1992 photo. Through assiduous research, NEC product development discovered that with virtual skiing, no snow is required, ACL tears are completely optional, and feral Yeti bites don't hurt nearly as badly.

(Photo: Associated Press)

Nothing says vintage VR like cruising cyberspace in a 1980s floral dress (as seen in this circa late-1980s NASA photo, which features a floral dress). I remember when my mom wore those, but I don't remember the VR goggles part. But nevermind—that's not even the funny part: This VR pioneer can also be seen wearing what looks like a VR fanny pack, which, we can only surmise, was intended to hold one's virtual sunglasses, wallet, and keys while repairing a satellite in low earth orbit. NASA gets its budget for a reason, folks.

(Photo: NASA)