From: cdshaw@cs.ualberta.ca (Chris Shaw)
Subject: Re: HISTORY: The oldest HMD of the world?
Date: 	Thu, 6 May 1993 15:09:00 -0600
Organization: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada


diego@minerva.st.dsi.unimi.it (Diego Montefusco) writes:
>I've seen some beautiful pictures taken, I guess in the 50s, with a
>strange optical device to increase the interpupillar distance. Maybe
>it was used to get some super-stereoscopic effect. Dunno...
>Diego

Yes. These things can be used as rangefinders. When the two images of the
super-wide stereo setup are aligned, you can read the range off a dial.
They've been around for 100 years or more.

Scott Fisher is a big VR History buff. Here's something from
"Implementation and integration of a counterbalanced CRT-based stereoscopic
display for interactive viewpoint control in virtual environment
applications", by I.E. McDowall, M Bolas, S Pieper, SS Fisher, J Humphries
SPIE 1256, Stereoscopic displays & applications, 1990

This paper refers in passing to a HMD built by Philco in the late 50's

Documented in 
"Headsight Television System Provides Remote Surveillance"
in Electronics pp 86-90 Nov 10, 1961 by C Cormeau & J Bryan

I haven't seen this issue of Electronics yet.
-- 
Chris Shaw               University of Alberta
cdshaw@cs.UAlberta.ca    CatchPhrase: Bogus as HELL !