Morton Heilig: Bio

Morton Heilig: Sensorama

In 1962, Morton Heilig - a Hollywood based cinematographer was clearly ahead of his time. His conception of the first virtual reality machine - an experience he patented as Sensorama - was the amalgam of a number of mechanized processes all serving the user's immersion within the limited space of the arcade box. Using motion, 3D stereoscopic imaging, sounds, artificial breezes, smells of jasmine and hibiscus, and tactile-feedback handlebars, Heilig was able to offer the user an experience that was unparalleled by any other form of entertainment during the era - breaking down the "4th wall" that neither film nor tradtional theater were able to circumvent. As is typical of such revolutionary innovations, Sensorama was unprofitable- ignored by a public that wasn't ready to engage with such a machine. But despite its commercial failure, Heilig's pioneering experiments with Virtual Reality have proved an important step in the evolution of sensory based immersion, providing contemporary designers with an early example of how powerful such experiences can be even without the technology available today.

Related Links / Sources:

Retrofuture
Sensorama at Artmuseum.net