Atari Jaguar
A virtual reality headset compatible with the console, tentatively titled the Jaguar VR, was unveiled by Atari at the 1995 Winter Consumer Electronics Show. The development of the peripheral was a response to Nintendo's virtual reality console, the Virtual Boy, which had been announced the previous year. The headset was developed in cooperation with Virtuality, who had previously created many virtual reality arcade systems, and was already developing a similar headset for practical purposes, named Project Elysium, for IBM. The peripheral was targeted for a commercial release before Christmas 1995. However, the deal with Virtuality was abandoned in October 1995. After Atari's merger with JTS in 1996, all prototypes of the headset were allegedly destroyed. However, two working units, one low-resolution prototype with red and grey-colored graphics and one high-resolution prototype with blue and grey-colored graphics, have since been recovered, and are regularly showcased at retrogaming-themed conventions and festivals. Only one game was developed for the Jaguar VR prototype: a 3D-rendered version of the 1980 arcade game "Missile Command", entitled "Missile Command 3D", though a demo of Virtuality's "Zone Hunter" was also created for Jaguar VR demonstrations.
History of hearing aids
The creation of high-speed digital-array processors used in minicomputers opened up the door for advances in digital hearing aids. These minicomputers were able to process audio signals at speeds that were equivalent to real-time. In 1982, at the City University of New York, the first real-time all digital hearing aid was created. The equipment contained a digital array processor and minicomputer. This consisted of an FM radio transmitter and receiver. The radio made a connection between the individual through a transmitter on the body to the radio on top of the computer. The transmitter on the body was connected by a wire to the ear microphone and the receiver. Even though this was a major breakthrough in the creation of hearing aids, there were still a few problems. One of these major problems was that while the hearing aid worked, it was extremely heavy and nearly impossible to move.
The first commercial digital hearing aid was created in 1987 by the Nicolet Corporation. The hearing aid contained a body-worn processor that had a hardwire connection with an ear mounted transducer. While the Nicolet Corporation’s hearing aid was not publicly successful and the company shortly folded, it was able to start a competition between companies to create more effective hearing aids. Two years later, in 1989, the behind-the-ear (BTE) digital hearing aid was launched.