"Hugo Gernsback, the remarkable man with a remarkable Seeing-Eye
into the future." (Newspapers.com image)
 It is no secret that I consider
Hugo Gernsback to be one of America's greatest high tech visionaries. Through his
many electronics magazines and books, he has predicted versions of many of the world's
inventions ranging from radar and sonar to hands-free radio, satellite communications,
and even Google Cardboard. 'Cardboard' is the name given to the inexpensive yet
highly functional 3-D stereo virtual reality (VR) viewers designed to work with
Android and
iPhone Cardboard smartphone apps that are formatted to provide
3-dimensional images. This is a 21st century version of the old View-Master™
toys (which are still in production). Why do I give Mr. Gernsback credit for Cardboard?
The clipping below from the December 24, 1965 edition of the Lebanon Daily News
in its exaltation of his propensity for prediction the future, depicts him wearing
a pair of 'Teleeyeglasses' as detailed in the October 1936 issue of
Short-Wave Craft, wherein he described a "stereoptical television view."
Of course Hugo Gernsback was only one of many people who envisioned such devices,
but he was certainly amongst the first. There are many Cardboard VR viewer design
available for purchase online; maybe someone should create a Retro version that
includes faux antennas and tuning dials on the front!
 
The basic Google 'Cardboard' 3-D Viewer
If you decide to buy a
Cardboard model, please purchase via my Amazon account since
the price is the same as with KnoxLabs.
Posted December 7, 2015
|
