HMD Origins: Morton was one of the greatest visionaries of his time and if he was alive today would probably be called a Futurist. He was a Philosopher, Inventor, Filmmaker and in general a man who looked towards the future and was way ahead of his time. But he didn’t stop there. Later in the decade, he developed the now famous Telesphere Mask. This device was patented in 1957 (but didn’t get approved until 1960) and featured, for the first time ever, a head-mounted display (HMD). Although it only played non-interactive films, without motion-tracking, it did provide stereoscopic 3D, wide vision, and stereo sound.
Telesphere Mask Specs…
Name: Telesphere Mask (Heilig’s HMD), (Simulation Mask)
Maker: Morton Leonard Heilig
Released: Never
Type: Video Powered
Display: 3-D CRT display
Field of View(FOV): 40°
Refresh Rate: 25 Hz
Launch Price: Never Sold To PublicNever Sold To Public
Weight: Unknown
Features: The Telesphere mask comprised of optical units, television tube units, earphones, discharge nozzles designed as a personalized device which could be adjusted to the individual’s comfort
While some people will say that this was the first VR headset it was never really made. It wasn’t until he created the Sensorama that you can say he actually made a VR machine, but even then the Sensorama was a sit-down cabinet and not a HMD at all. It’s still impressive that Morton Heilig designed this at that time, but designing and making one are two different things.