 Jaron Lanier is probably best known for his work in Virtual Reality. He coined the term 'Virtual Reality'. In the early 1980s he co-developed the first glove device for virtual world interaction and was the first to study full hand interactions with virtual objects. In the late 1980s he lead the team that developed the first implementations of multi-person virtual worlds using head mounted displays, for both local and wide area networks, as well as the first "avatars", or representations of users within such systems. He co-developed the first implementations of virtual reality applications in surgical simulation, vehicle interior prototyping, and assorted other areas. His company VPL Research, founded in 1983, was the first company to introduce immersive virtual reality products. VPL introduced the first commercial interface gloves (1984), head mounted displays (1987), and networked virtual world system (1989). He led the team that developed the first widely used software platform architecture for immersive virtual reality applications. As a computer scientist, Lanier is also known as a pioneer in the field of visual programming. He has also worked on the problem of making software simulations into reusable parts in order to improve their integration into scientific method. Lanier is also a well known author and speaker. He writes on numerous topics, including high-technology business, the social impact of technological practices, the philosophy of consciousness and information, Internet politics, and the future of humanism. His book, "Technology and the Future of the Human Soul" will be finished someday, but is delayed by epic procrastination. His writing appears in The New York Times, Discover, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Harpers Magazine, The Sciences, Wired Magazine (where he is a founding contributing editor), and Scientific American. He has edited special "future" issues of SPIN and Civilization magazines. The nation of Palau has issued a postage stamp in his honor. He appears on national television regularly, on shows such as "The News Hour", "Nightline" and "Charlie Rose", and has been profiled on the front pages of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. He has served in various research groups concerned with the future, and has been appointed a fellow at Cap Gemini/Ernst & Young, the World Economic Forum, and the MacArthur Foundation Roundtables, and is one of the "remarkable people" of the Global Business Network.
|
