Did virtual reality fizzle in actuality? "It went through the hype cycle," Jackie Fenn, vice president at Gartner, told NewsFactor. "Now it's wallowing in the trough of disillusionment."

The once-exciting field has hit hard times. Virtual reality products are expensive, and the amount of necessary R&D funding is mind-boggling. Still, while analysts note that the virtual reality world is not altogether dead, practical applications are still some distance from becoming reality.

Past Imperfect

Virtual reality rose to prominence when companies wanted to produce an immersive experience that would lend itself to gaming, training or entertainment. Much was made of the promise of products that could turn science-fiction into household reality. But the truth never quite matched the fantasy.

"A substantial problem emerged, which was not anticipated," Rob Enderle, an analyst at Giga Information Group, told NewsFactor. "People became physically ill when using head-mounted displays." The motion sickness was too common, and many virtual reality R&D projects ground to a temporary halt.

"They are working on the causes of [the motion sickness], and clearly we will solve these problems going forward," Enderle said. "But since this is more medical than technical, it may take a while."

Playing Field

Another reason that virtual reality got stuck in its initial stages was the lack of funding. Such large-scale, tech-intensive projects require money, and plenty of it. Few companies had the luxury of funding ventures that might not result in products.

Only companies that could write the necessary checks are left: large firms specializing in application development for heavy industry.

"Most of the vendors have changed," Fenn said. "So now you really only have people who can build models of very expensive items, like airplanes."

Enderle added that, generally speaking, the most aggressive advancement of virtual reality is in the military and aerospace fields, where companies like Boeing create massively accurate virtual worlds to test hardware and people.

In addition to those working on military and aerospace applications, many vendors sell 3D displays or development tools for other purposes. Matrox, for example, offers a graphics card designed for producing a video signal simultaneously on three screens. (continued...)

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