Virtual reality
The 1990s saw the first widespread commercial releases of consumer headsets. In 1991, Sega announced the Sega VR headset for arcade games and the Mega Drive console. It used LCD screens in the visor, stereo headphones, and inertial sensors that allowed the system to track and react to the movements of the user's head. In the same year, Virtuality launched and went on to become the first mass-produced, networked, multiplayer VR entertainment system. It was released in many countries, including a dedicated VR arcade at Embarcadero Center in San Francisco. Costing up to $73,000 per multi-pod Virtuality system, they featured headsets and exoskeleton gloves that gave one of the first "immersive" VR experiences. "Computer Gaming World" predicted "Affordable VR by 1994".
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.