Virtual reality (VR) devices appeared earlier than personal computers. In 1968, Ivan Sutherland created the first head-mounted display system[1], and the first personal computer, Altair 8800, was introduced seven years later[2]. my country's VR research began in the early 1970s, mainly focusing on the aerospace field. [3] However, when personal computers swept the world, VR technology has never become a mass consumer product and is little known.

In fact, due to the unique role of VR technology, its basic research and development and its application in military, aerospace and other fields have always been highly valued. In 2006, the "Outline of the National Medium- and Long-Term Science and Technology Development Plan (2006-2020)" promulgated by the Chinese government listed VR technology as one of the cutting-edge technologies to be developed in the information field. However, due to the limitations of computer software and hardware technology at the time, VR products have never really entered the homes of ordinary people.

It was not until March 2014 that Facebook acquired VR manufacturer Oculus for $2 billion and declared that VR would become the computing platform of the future, which ignited the capital market's enthusiasm for VR. From 2014 to 2015, there were 225 venture capital investments in the VR field, with an investment of $3.5 billion. [4] In 2016, consumer-grade VR products from mainstream manufacturers officially entered the market, so 2016 was called the "first year of VR" by the media. Influenced by this, the field of educational technology has also paid increasing attention to VR. [5]

In view of the prediction of the broad prospects of VR educational applications and the concern about the relatively backward research and practice of VR in my country's education and educational technology fields, Beijing Normal University held the "2016 Beijing Normal University 'Smart Learning and VR Education Application Academic Week'" from March 18 to 24, 2016. The event included the release of smart learning research results, the exhibition of industry-university-research results and educational product experience. VR educational applications were the focus of the academic week, with three lectures and three types of VR product experience arranged.

(I) Development of VR technology

In 1968, Ivan Sutherland created the first head-mounted display system HMD (Head Mounted Display) at the University of Utah in the United States and was hailed as the "Father of VR". Although this device was still quite crude, it already had the basic characteristics of VR technology, namely immersive interactive experience. Since then, VR technology has gradually developed and matured, and has gone through the following stages:

1. Prototype exploration stage (1960s-1980s)

The 1960s and 1980s were the prototype exploration stage of VR technology. In addition to Sutherland's HMD prototype, some other VR devices appeared during this period, such as the "Big Black Hole" (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment, CAVE for short) holographic projection system developed by the US Department of Defense. These prototype devices are mainly used in professional fields such as military and aerospace.

2. Product exploration stage (1990s-2000s)

The 1990s to 2000s were the product exploration stage of VR technology. With the advancement of computer and graphics processing technology, some companies began to launch VR equipment products for the consumer market. For example, in 1995, Sony launched the PC-connected head-mounted display "Virtual Game Console", and in 1999, Nintendo launched the handheld VR game console "Nintendo Virtual Boy". Although these products are far from today's technical level, they have made preliminary attempts to popularize VR technology to the mass consumer field.

3. Industrial upgrading stage (2010 to present)

Entering the 21st century, especially after 2010, VR technology has ushered in a new round of rapid development. In 2014, Facebook acquired VR company Oculus for US$2 billion and announced that VR will become the computing platform of the future, setting off a new round of investment boom in the VR industry. Since then, major technology companies have launched a new generation of VR devices, such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR, etc.