{"id":691,"date":"2021-11-10T13:29:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T13:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/?p=691"},"modified":"2026-06-29T14:00:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T14:00:08","slug":"a-history-of-xr-cross-reality-part-4-of-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/?p=691","title":{"rendered":"A History of XR Cross Reality Part 4 of 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"Decorative<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
\n

If you persevered through Parts 1,<\/a> 2,<\/a> and 3<\/a>,
\n well done! For me, the fun starts now as the timeline now includes my
\nlifetime which means I can remember and attest to the impact that
\nscience fiction has had on our cross reality creations. We have color TV
\n so let’s almost <\/i>finish up the 20th century!<\/span><\/p>\n

1966 – 1998<\/span><\/h2>\n

1966<\/b>
\n Star Trek and the communicator – a hand held device that could do
\nseveral functions, all without cords, wires, or being at a
\npanel\/payphone.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

1968<\/b> Heads-Up Display suggested <\/a>for civilian, private use.<\/span><\/p>\n

1969<\/b>
\n Another paleo futuristic image, this one from Japan. This shows
\nadaptive technology used for learning, no teacher in the room, and robot
\n that doles out punishment.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"Futuristic<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Source:  Sh\u014dnen Sunday<\/i>, a Japanese Manga magazine, 1969.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

1972<\/b>
\n The first smartwatch, the Pulsar. I tried to find what definition
\n‘first smartwatch’ meant and I learned that it meant ‘you have to press a
\n button in order for it to display the time’.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"Photo<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Pulsar, the first smart watch. Source: watchdepot.com.au<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

1974 <\/b>This
\n video, One day, a computer will fit on a desk (1974)<\/a> is excellent to watch. The world is predicted for
\n2001.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s
\n Arthur C. Clarke. What is it about science fiction writers that have
\nthe ability to accurately predict the future? I think it\u2019s first the
\nbroad spectrum of options that science fiction provides. Second, I think
\n that they can also pick out design patterns that are viable. <\/span><\/p>\n

1979<\/b> Star Wars – communication via recorded hologram.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"Capture<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Star Wars, A New Hope, Leia as hologram scene.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

1982<\/b>
\n EPCOT opens. This is the now-closed Horizons pavilion which focused
\nentirely on the future. I wanted to show this image because of the
\nrobots in the home. One robot in the kitchen is cooking and
\nsimultaneously cleaning. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s zoom in on the \u201cButler\u201d robot who is vacuuming.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"Photo<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The butler from the now-gone Horizons Epcot pavilion<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Notice
\n how Disney has the Butler robot — who is capable of other
\nduties–literally using a vacuum cleaner that would have been present in
\n 1960 or even 1982. So futurists often start by putting objects together<\/b> to increase the functions. Need your floor vacuumed? No problem. Your robot will grab the vacuum<\/i> and do it for you. One device will use another device.<\/span><\/p>\n

But
\n today, we have Roomba vacuums. Disney was wrong. What happened? In the
\nfuture that came to pass, the robot and the vacuum cleaner were put
\ntogether into one device (and the butler\u2019s duties are done by other
\nrobots in our homes, I’m looking at you Alexa). Take note of that
\npattern; what started as two devices actually became one.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a fun image from 1982.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"Artwork<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Credit: Alan Kay<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

This
\n was drawn by Alan Kay who was drafted to draw a vision of how Atari
\ncould be incorporated into the classroom. Bold moves for a game
\ncompany– then.<\/span><\/p>\n

Note: \u201cHere we see some of the earliest visions
\nfrom Silicon Valley of the personal computer in the classroom. The
\nfuture of education here is technological. It is branded. It is
\ngame-based. There are still desks in rows and clusters. And students
\nstill rebel.\u201d (Watters, 2015<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

1992 <\/b>Snow Crash novel by Neal Stephenson. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"Snow<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cover art for the Snow Crash novel by Neal Stephenson<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

Stephenson
\n writes of a virtual world, the impact of headsets, and a basic Sumerian
\n language programming plot. Philip Rosedale credits his wife as handing
\nhim this novel to read that became the starting point for Linden Lab’s
\nSecond Life virtual world. <\/span><\/p>\n

1995\u2019s<\/b> The Net with Sandra Bullock is a techno thriller of an isolated remote worker.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"Photo<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Source: imdb.com<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

Problems
\n ensue when she discovers a tech problem and a large corporation goes
\nafter her via the only conduit in her life: everything digital. Without
\ngiving away the plot because I\u2019ve heard some have never seen this movie (what?<\/i>), there is a very interesting intersection with privacy, security, and medical records. Let\u2019s just say that I\u2019m very glad that this<\/i> prediction of the future has not come true…yet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Part 1 380 B.C. to 1880 <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Part 2 1881 to 1909<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Part 3 1910 to 1965<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Part 4 1966 – 1998<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Part 5 1999 – 2013<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Part 6  2014 – Future<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

#Reality
\n #CrossReality #MixedReality #VirtualReality #AugmentedReality
\n#VirtualWorlds #Design #Transmedia #XR #VR #AR #ARVRinEdu #EdTech
\n#Innovation #StarTrek #Communicator #PaleoFuture #Pulsar #StarWars
\n#Hologram #EPCOT #Horizons #Disney #Roomba #Atari #SnowCrash
\n#NealStephenson #SecondLife #PhilipRosedale #LindenLab #TheNet
\n#SandraBullock<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

This article originally posted to LinkedIn on November 30, 2019. Updated on February 24, 2026 with better font and re-added images.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\n  If you persevered through Parts 1, 2, and 3, well done! For me, the fun starts now as the…\n<\/div>\n
Continue reading “A History of XR Cross Reality Part 4 of 6”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[102,72,27,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-research","category-vr","category-xr","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=691"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":700,"href":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691\/revisions\/700"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}