Virtual reality
VR is most commonly used in entertainment applications such as gaming and 3D cinema. Consumer virtual reality headsets were first released by video game companies in the early-mid 1990s. Beginning in the 2010s, next-generation commercial tethered headsets were released by Oculus (Rift), HTC (Vive) and Sony (PlayStation VR), setting off a new wave of application development. 3D cinema has been used for sporting events, pornography, fine art, music videos and short films. Since 2015, roller coasters and theme parks have incorporated virtual reality to match visual effects with haptic feedback .
Liquid Image
Liquid Image Corporation was a Winnipeg-based company that manufactured head-mounted displays. The company formed in 1992 by Tony Havelka, David Collette and Shannon O'Brien. Liquid Image was started in Winnipeg, MB in response to the emergence of a market for virtual reality technology. Funding as provided by a group of local angels and the first office was in the attic of Tony Havelka.
The company focused their efforts on creation of a commercially available head-mounted display (HMD) system for military, scientific and entertainment uses. The first product, the MRG2, was a monocular HMD that used a 5.7" diagonal color TFT-LCD. After conducting ergonomic research on head sizes at the University of Manitoba and evaluating market potential the MRG2 was created as a universal fit design. Within 15 months Liquid Image had sold more than $1.1 million of MRG2 units at a price of $6800 per HMD. The design won the 1994 Mecklermedia Virtual Reality award. Jaron Lanier, a VR pioneer, commented that year at a tradeshow where the founders met him that he liked the monocular design of the MRG2. He also commented that he would have created a monocular system at VPL Research if a suitable display had been available. By 1996 the MRG2.2 product was available for $3495.