LEEP Systems: Difference between revisions - VR & AR Wiki - Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality Wiki

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{{Company Infobox

|image=

|image=[[File:leep systems1.jpeg|350px]]

|Type=Private

|Industry=[[Virtual Reality]], [[Head-mounted display]], [[Optics]]

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|Website=leepvr.com

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'''LEEP Systems, Inc.''' was an American [[technology]] [[company]] founded in 1991 by inventor [[Eric Howlett]] that specialized in the development and manufacture of [[virtual reality]] and [[telepresence]] systems. The company was primarily known for its LEEP (Large Expanse, Extra Perspective) optical system and the Cyberface line of [[head-mounted displays]] (HMDs), which were among the first commercially available virtual reality headsets and featured some of the widest fields of view in the industry at the time.

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The LEEP optical system was a breakthrough in wide-angle stereoscopic optics that created a convincing sense of depth and immersion through an extremely wide field of view. The original LEEP system was redesigned for NASA's Ames Research Center in 1985 for their first virtual reality installation, the VIEW (Virtual Interactive Environment Workstation) by Scott Fisher.<ref name="nasa">National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Virtual Interface Environment Workstations (VIEW)." NASA Technical Reports Server. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

After seeing the potential of his optical system in virtual reality applications, Howlett formally established LEEP Systems, Inc. in 1991 to market wide angle telepresence and virtual reality systems for research and for medical and military purposes.<ref name="sbir">Small Business Innovation Research. "Leep Systems, Inc. — Company profile." U.S. SBIR Program. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref> The company built upon the technology that had already been used by NASA and other organizations throughout the 1980s.

After seeing the potential of his optical system in virtual reality applications, Howlett formally established LEEP Systems, Inc. in 1991 to market wide angle telepresence and virtual reality systems for research and for medical and military purposes.<ref name="sbir">Small Business Innovation Research. "Leep Systems, Inc. - Company profile." U.S. SBIR Program. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref> The company built upon the technology that had already been used by NASA and other organizations throughout the 1980s.

=== Timeline of Key Events ===

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=== Early Products and Development ===

Before LEEP Systems was formally incorporated, Howlett had already begun developing VR hardware through his POP-OPTIX LABS business. In March 1989, with the release of the original LEEP Cyberface, Eric Howlett became the first to offer a commercial head-mounted display.<ref name="leepvr">LeepVR website. "Eric Howlett created the LEEP Panoramic Stereo Photography system. He pursued careers in engineering, as a marketing executive and as an entrepreneur, founding several companies — all in the Boston technology milieu." About page. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref> The original Cyberface technology was similar to that used in NASA's "VIEWS" (Virtual Interface Environment Work Station).

Before LEEP Systems was formally incorporated, Howlett had already begun developing VR hardware through his POP-OPTIX LABS business. In March 1989, with the release of the original LEEP Cyberface, Eric Howlett became the first to offer a commercial head-mounted display.<ref name="leepvr">LeepVR website. "Eric Howlett created the LEEP Panoramic Stereo Photography system. He pursued careers in engineering, as a marketing executive and as an entrepreneur, founding several companies - all in the Boston technology milieu." About page. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref> The original Cyberface technology was similar to that used in NASA's "VIEWS" (Virtual Interface Environment Work Station).

The company's innovation was grounded in Howlett's earlier work developing a wide-angle stereoscopic photography system. In 1978, he invented a system that corrected as much as possible the perspective distortions that may arise when expanding the field of view, allowing static images to be converted to 3D effects.<ref name="VR_History">Virtual Reality Society (April 1, 2020). "During the 70s and the 80s Howlett started working with optical technology, which included inventing a super wide angle stereoscopic lens system One that compensated for viewer aberration brought on by having such a wide field of view. This was called LEEP." People of VR - Eric Howlett Spotlight. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref> This invention received a patent in 1983 and became the foundation for LEEP's later virtual reality products.

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Since 1985, NASA and VPL had been using the wide-angle LEEP viewing lenses in various head-mounted display projects.<ref name="nasa" /> In 1988, NASA and a sensory research group at MIT tasked Pop-Optix Labs with designing very wide-angle LEEP format lenses for video cameras, which made wide-angle telepresence possible.

The LEEP optical system became highly influential in the early VR industry, with numerous organizations adopting the technology. The LEEP viewing optics were used in theme park attractions and in almost all of the VR headsets sold in the 1980s.<ref name="Howlett3">Wikipedia. "1980 to 1990 — Operated a proprietorship, POP-OPTIX LABS with revenue from consulting and manufacture of custom optical and electronic devices. The LEEP viewing optics were used in theme park attractions and almost all of the Virtual Reality Headsets (Head-Mounted Displays, or HMDs) sold in the 1980s." Eric Howlett article. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

The LEEP optical system became highly influential in the early VR industry, with numerous organizations adopting the technology. The LEEP viewing optics were used in theme park attractions and in almost all of the VR headsets sold in the 1980s.<ref name="Howlett3">Wikipedia. "1980 to 1990 - Operated a proprietorship, POP-OPTIX LABS with revenue from consulting and manufacture of custom optical and electronic devices. The LEEP viewing optics were used in theme park attractions and almost all of the Virtual Reality Headsets (Head-Mounted Displays, or HMDs) sold in the 1980s." Eric Howlett article. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

=== Collaborations and Recognition ===

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<ref name="Howlett1">Carlson, Wayne (2005). "The Large Expanse, Extra Perspective (LEEP) optical system was designed by Eric Howlett in 1979 and provides the basis for most of the current virtual reality helmets available today." Ohio State University.</ref>

<ref name="Howlett2">Wikipedia. "Eric Mayorga Howlett (December 27, 1926 – December 11, 2011) was the inventor of the LEEP (Large Expanse Extra Perspective), extreme wide-angle stereoscopic optics used in photographic and virtual reality systems." Eric Howlett biography article. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

<ref name="Howlett3">Wikipedia. "1980 to 1990 — Operated a proprietorship, POP-OPTIX LABS with revenue from consulting and manufacture of custom optical and electronic devices. The LEEP viewing optics were used in theme park attractions and almost all of the Virtual Reality Headsets (Head-Mounted Displays, or HMDs) sold in the 1980s." Eric Howlett article. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

<ref name="Howlett3">Wikipedia. "1980 to 1990 - Operated a proprietorship, POP-OPTIX LABS with revenue from consulting and manufacture of custom optical and electronic devices. The LEEP viewing optics were used in theme park attractions and almost all of the Virtual Reality Headsets (Head-Mounted Displays, or HMDs) sold in the 1980s." Eric Howlett article. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

<ref name="Howlett4">High Tech History (January 28, 2012). "With his passing, his son Alex (likewise a talented electronics engineer) is trying to now market LEEP to the gaming community – fertile ground for such advanced, realistic technology." Eric M. Howlett, pioneer of "Virtual Reality" article. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

<ref name="Cyberface">Virtual Reality Shop (January 20, 2022). "The Cyberface2 was a general-purpose head-mounted display system that used two 4-inch diagonal high-resolution colour LCD video panels for extremely wide-angle stereoscopic Virtual Reality." LEEP Systems Inc - Cyberface 2 article. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

<ref name="leepvr">LeepVR website. "Eric Howlett created the LEEP Panoramic Stereo Photography system. He pursued careers in engineering, as a marketing executive and as an entrepreneur, founding several companies — all in the Boston technology milieu." About page. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

<ref name="leepvr">LeepVR website. "Eric Howlett created the LEEP Panoramic Stereo Photography system. He pursued careers in engineering, as a marketing executive and as an entrepreneur, founding several companies - all in the Boston technology milieu." About page. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

<ref name="VR_History">Virtual Reality Society (April 1, 2020). "During the 70s and the 80s Howlett started working with optical technology, which included inventing a super wide angle stereoscopic lens system One that compensated for viewer aberration brought on by having such a wide field of view. This was called LEEP." People of VR - Eric Howlett Spotlight. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

<ref name="nasa">National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Virtual Interface Environment Workstations (VIEW)." NASA Technical Reports Server. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

<ref name="OSUPress">Ohio State University Pressbooks. "17.5 Virtual Spaces – Computer Graphics and Computer Animation: A Retrospective Overview." Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

<ref name="sbir">Small Business Innovation Research. "Leep Systems, Inc. — Company profile." U.S. SBIR Program. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

<ref name="sbir">Small Business Innovation Research. "Leep Systems, Inc. - Company profile." U.S. SBIR Program. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

<ref name="sbiraward">Small Business Innovation Research. "A Head‑Coupled Visual and Aural Sensor System for Tele‑operated Rotorcraft." U.S. SBIR Program, Award #66836. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

<ref name="wired">Garfinkel, Simson L. "Look Ma! No Gloves!" Wired, March 1, 1994.</ref>

~~<ref name="patent">U.S. Patent Office. "Wide‑angle color photography method and system." Patent #US4406532A. September 27, 1983.</ref>~~

<ref name="sid92">SID Conference. "A Wide Field of View High Resolution Compact Virtual Reality Display." SID 1992 Conference Proceedings. Retrieved May 7, 2025.</ref>

<ref name="spiE92">Howlett, E.M. "High‑resolution inserts in wide‑angle head‑mounted stereoscopic displays." Proceedings of SPIE 1669, 1992.</ref>