Read more: 鈥�Dreams on demand: Virtual reality finally delivers鈥�
1961 Morton Heilig patents the Sensorama, a TV booth in which short projected 3D films were augmented with a moving chair, audio, vibration, wind and aromas
1966 US Air Force develops first computer-driven flight simulator
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1968 Ivan Sutherland at Harvard University develops head-mounted cathode ray tube display. Users can explore wire-frame graphics by turning their head
1977 First 鈥渄ataglove鈥�, at the University of Illinois, allows computer users to interact with on-screen objects
1984 Researcher Jaron Lanier popularises the term 鈥渧irtual reality鈥� and founds VPL Research in Palo Alto, California. The firm is the first to sell datagloves and immersive headsets
1995 Nintendo introduces Virtual Boy, a tabletop VR headset. The device, which only displays images as red on black, fails to take off
2005 Ford Motor Co sets up an immersive VR engineering lab, trimming over a year off the development time of a new car
2012 Oculus Rift鈥檚 VR headset raises $2.4 million in funding; developers begin producing the first apps for it
