VPL Research: Difference between revisions

|Founded=1984, [[Palo Alto]], [[California]]

|Founder=[[Jaron Lanier]]

|Headquarters=[[California]], United States

|Notable Personnel=[[Jaron Lanier]] (Founder, CEO)<br/>[[Thomas Zimmerman]] (Co-inventor, DataGlove)<br/>[[Young Harvill]] (VP of Engineering)<br/>[[Ann Lasko-Harvill]] (Chief Designer of Data Suits)<br/>[[Chuck Blanchard]] (Software Developer)<br/>[[Jean-Jacques Grimaud]] (Engineer)

|Products=[[DataGlove]], [[EyePhone]], [[DataSuit]], [[AudioSphere]], [[Body Electric]], [[Isaac]], [[Reality Built for Two]] (RB2)

|Website=

'''VPL Research''' was one of the first companies that developed and sold [[virtual reality]] products. It was founded by [[computer scientist]] [[Jaron Lanier]] in 1984.<ref name="wikipedia">VPL Research - Wikipedia</ref> "VPL" stood for "Virtual Programming Languages".<ref name="wikipedia"/> The company was started in the corner of Lanier's cottage in [[Palo Alto]], a city in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]].<ref name="vrs">VPL Research Jaron Lanier - Virtual Reality Society</ref>

VPL Research was founded in 1984 by Jaron Lanier, who is often regarded as the person who coined the term "virtual reality".<ref name="vrs"/> He is also credited with further popularizing the term.<ref name="vrs"/> The company received funding in part from [[Marvin Minsky]].<ref name="wikipedia"/>

The company filed for [[bankruptcy]] in 1990.<ref name="wikipedia"/> In February 1998, [[Sun Microsystems]] announced it had acquired the patent portfolio and other technical assets of the former VPL Research Inc. from Thomson CSF and Greenleaf Medical.<ref name="sun">Sun buys VPL research - jaronlanier.com</ref> Under the agreement, Sun acquired the worldwide rights to more than a dozen key patents and related technologies.<ref name="sun"/>

| '''[[DataGlove]]''' || An input device using a glove form factor || • Used fiber-optic bundles to track finger movements<br/>• 6502 microcontrollers<br/>• Wired to computer<br/>• Allowed manipulation of virtual objects || $10,000<ref name="wikipedia"/>

| '''[[EyePhone]]''' || Head-mounted display (HMD) || • Color LCD displays (320×240 per eye)<ref name="vrcompare">VPL EyePhone: Full Specification - VRcompare</ref><br/>• 108° field of view<ref name="vrcompare"/><br/>• 30 Hz refresh rate (5-6 fps in practice)<ref name="wikipedia"/><br/>• Used Fresnel lenses<br/>• Head tracking capability || $6,000 (headset only)<ref name="virtualrealityshop">The Complete History of VR - VPL Research Inc - EP-01</ref>

| '''[[DataSuit]]''' || Full-body tracking suit || • Sensors for measuring movement of arms, legs, and trunk<ref name="wikipedia"/><br/>• Developed circa 1989<ref name="vrarwiki">VPL Research - VR & AR Wiki</ref> || N/A

| '''[[AudioSphere]]''' || 3D audio rendering system || • Real-time 3D sound rendering<br/>• Created illusion of 3D sounds from all dimensions<ref name="vrs"/> || N/A

The complete VPL system, including the computers required to run it, cost upwards of $250,000.<ref name="wikipedia"/><ref name="flashbak">Jaron Lanier's EyePhone: Head And Glove Virtual Reality In The 1980s - Flashbak</ref>

Body Electric was a [[visual programming language]] used to control and program all other VPL components as part of the whole VPL virtual reality experience.<ref name="vrs"/> It was created by [[Chuck Blanchard]].<ref name="vplsoftware">VPL Software Lives! - jaronlanier.com</ref> According to Jaron Lanier, it was "a rare example of a successful visual programming language that is seductive at first approach, but also scales and has been used for industrial strength applications."<ref name="vplsoftware"/>

"Reality Built for Two" (RB2) was described as the first networked VR system.<ref name="wikipedia"/> It was developed by Young Harvill along with Jaron Lanier and Chuck Blanchard.<ref name="ixdf">Author: Young Harvill | IxDF</ref> RB2 was marketed as a complete off-the-shelf VR system.<ref name="streettech">VPL Research, Inc. - streettech.com</ref>

* '''[[Jaron Lanier]]''' - Founder and CEO. Often credited with coining or popularizing the term "virtual reality".<ref name="vrs"/>

* '''[[Thomas Zimmerman]]''' - Invented the prototype of the DataGlove.<ref name="wikipedia"/> Co-authored the 1987 paper "A hand gesture interface device" presented at Graphics Interface 87.<ref name="researchgate">A hand gesture interface device - ResearchGate</ref>

* '''[[Ann Lasko-Harvill]]''' - Chief designer of data suits at VPL Research.<ref name="awexr">Ann Lasko-Harvill Chief Designer of Data Suits at VPL - awexr.com</ref> Spearheaded the development of VPL's "Reality Built for Two" (RB2) whole body VR suit.<ref name="awexr"/>

* '''[[Jean-Jacques Grimaud]]''' - Engineer who worked on multiple VPL patents including motion sensors and position tracking systems.<ref name="patents">Patents Assigned to VPL Research Inc. - Justia Patents Search</ref>

VPL Research held numerous patents related to virtual reality technology, including:

All VPL patents were acquired by Sun Microsystems in 1998.<ref name="sun"/>

VPL licensed the DataGlove technology to [[Mattel]], which used it to create the [[Power Glove]] for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]].<ref name="wikipedia"/> Based on VPL's $10,000 DataGlove, Mattel rushed its $90 Power Glove to market, becoming "one of the hottest gift items of the 1989 holiday season" and selling 1.3 million units worldwide.<ref name="wikipedia"/>

The DataSuit and EyePhone were featured in the 1992 science fiction film [[The Lawnmower Man]].<ref name="wikipedia"/> The movie introduced the concept of virtual reality to a wider audience and was in part based on Jaron Lanier and his early laboratory days.<ref name="vrs"/> Real virtual reality equipment from VPL research labs was used in the film.<ref name="vrs"/>

The VPL DataGlove was brought to market in 1987, and in October of that year it appeared on the cover of [[Scientific American]].<ref name="britannica">VPL DataGlove | device | Britannica</ref>

Despite filing for bankruptcy in 1990, VPL Research is recognized as one of the pioneering companies in virtual reality. The company developed some of the first commercial VR products and implemented some of the first applications of virtual reality.<ref name="vrs"/> Many of the first examples of VR applications were created using VPL software, including vehicle simulators at [[NASA]] and [[Boeing]].<ref name="vplsoftware"/>

After Sun Microsystems acquired VPL's patents in 1998, Jaron Lanier was allowed to provide low-level support for the resilient user community of VPL software.<ref name="vplsoftware"/> However, Sun Microsystems was not known to have sold any virtual reality products using the VPL technology.<ref name="vrs"/>