The Sensorama was a machine that is one of the earliest known examples of immersive, multi-sensory (now known as multimodal) technology. Morton Heilig, who today would be thought of as a “multimedia” specialist, in the 1950s saw theater as an activity that could encompass all the senses in an effective manner, thus drawing the viewer into the onscreen activity. He dubbed it “Experience Theater”, and detailed his vision of multi-sensory theater in his 1955 paper entitled “The Cinema of the Future” (Robinett 1994). He built a prototype of his vision, dubbed the Sensorama, along with five short films to be displayed in it. Predating digital computing, the Sensorama was a mechanical device, which still functions today. Multimodal technology describes any technologies that allow using more than one mode of input and output on a cell phone, computer or PDA. It is commonly researched as human-computer interaction (or HCI) in academia. ... // Events and trends This map shows two essential global spheres during the Cold War in 1959. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A digital system is one that uses numbers, especially binary numbers, for input, processing, transmission, storage, or display, rather than a continuous spectrum of values (an analog system) or non-numeric symbols such as letters or icons. ... The word mechanical can mean one of several things: A device or principle described as mechanical relates to a mechanism or machine, or the realm of Newtonian mechanics. ...

Howard Rheingold (in his 1992 book Virtual Reality) spoke of his trial of the Sensorama using a short film piece that detailed a bicycle ride through Brooklyn, created in the 1950s, and still seemed quite impressed by what it could do more than 40 years later. The Sensorama was able to display stereoscopic 3D images in a wide-angle view, provide body tilting, supply stereo sound, and also had tracks for wind and aromas to be triggered during the film. Oddly enough in hindsight, Heilig was unable to obtain financial backing for his visions and patents, and the Sensorama work was halted and today remains primarily a curiosity in the expansive lore of Virtual Reality. Howard Rheingold at the Ars Electronica in 2004 Howard Rheingold (born July 7, 1947 in Phoenix, Arizona) is a leading thinker on the cultural, social and political implications of modern communications media such as the Internet, mobile telephony and virtual communities (a term he is credited with inventing). ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Stereoscopy, stereoscopic imaging or 3-D (three-dimensional) imaging is a technique to create the illusion of depth in a photograph, movie, or other two-dimensional image, by presenting a slightly different image to each eye. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... In popular usage, stereo generally refers to dual-channel sound recording and sound reproduction – sound that contains data for more than one speaker simultaneously. ... Odor receptors on the antennae of a Luna moth An odor is the object of perception of the sense of olfaction. ... A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a person for a fixed period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter (substance) (known as an invention) which is new, inventive and... Virtual Reality (VR) is an environment that is simulated by a computer. ...

References

• Rheingold, H. (1992). Virtual Reality, Simon & Schuster, New York, N.Y.
• Robinett, W. (1994). “Interactivity and Individual Viewpoint in Shared Virtual Worlds: The Big Screen vs. Networked Personal Displays.” Computer Graphics, 28(2), 127

Howard Rheingold at the Ars Electronica in 2004 Howard Rheingold (born July 7, 1947 in Phoenix, Arizona) is a leading thinker on the cultural, social and political implications of modern communications media such as the Internet, mobile telephony and virtual communities (a term he is credited with inventing). ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Warren Robinett is a designer of interactive computer graphics software, notable as the developer of Adventure, the first graphical adventure video game, and as the founder of The Learning Company, where he designed Rockys Boots. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... A virtual world is a computer-simulated environment intended for its users to inhabit and interact with via avatars. ...

External Links

• ArtMuseum.net article
• Retrofuture article