Artifact Details

Title

The Sword of Damocles: Early head-mounted display

Catalog Number

102680042

Type

Still Image

Description

Harvard computer graphics professor Ivan Sutherland created this virtual reality head-mounted display, jokingly referred to as “The Sword of Damocles” because of the large overhead beam required to support its weight. His student Bob Sproull assisted with the design. An early application showed a three-dimensional wire-frame virtual room that users like this man could explore by moving their heads.

B&W image.
.

Date

Circa 1967

Publisher

Harvard University

Identifying Numbers

05934A622248A
P4530

Dimensions

overall: 3 1/2 in x 4 1/2 in

Copyright Holder

Harvard University

Category

Flash photograph; Snapshot

Subject

Sutherland, Ivan; Television; Stereoscopic; Monitor

Credit

Courtesy of Gwen Bell

Lot Number

X7413.2015