The capacities of today's virtual reality machine is far exceeded by the projections of science fiction novelists and movie makers. At the moment, virtual reality is only accessible to a small population mainly comprised of computer geniuses and scientists.

Virtual reality emerged independently in several different places. The computer industry and the military developed the basis for this technology as early as the 1960's. The military built flight simulators that taught pilots how to fly planes and prepare them for the war-time experience. The pilot sat in the cockpit and used a head mount display with tracking systems. Science fiction and the arts exploited this concept and promoted the exploration of future technological advances.

The U.S. military worked with NASA to create newer, more immersive, interactive systems. To build a computer-based virtual reality system, we would need to add output devices such as the head-mount unit, joystick(s), and graphic boards to a personal computer. Similar to the computer, I believe virtual reality machines will become a common household tool used for educational as well as entertainment purposes. u