Headset: TELESPHERE MASK
Manufacturer: Morton Heilig
Platform: TV Input
Graphics: stereoscopic (3-D) TV
Cost: $100,000 (£73,773)
Launch Date: August 1960
Estimated Value:$500,000+
Other Features: Wide vision and true stereo sound.
One more Heilig’s substantial invention – virtual reality HMD Telesphere Mask. It is the headset that provided stereoscopic 3D and wide vision with stereo sound with no motion tracking.
Described by Heilig in his application as “a telescopic television apparatus for individual use,” the Telesphere was in every way a 3D video headset of the type we’re used to – except that instead of connecting to a smartphone or PC, Heilig’s used miniaturised TV tubes.She was told companies wouldn’t even take it for free. She said “I’d given up on this whole thing after a lifetime of struggle.”