Virtual Reality Pioneer Tom Furness on the Past, Present, and Future of VR in Health Care.

Back in the Mid-1960s rotary-dial telephones were the norm, music cassette tapes were brand new, and microwave ovens hadn't made it into houses yet. That's also when newly minted electrical engineer Thomas Furness joined a U.S. Air Force Lab and began developing what would become the first virtual reality (VR) systems, including the fighter-jet Super Cockpit that gives pilots 3D representations of avionics data, along with the ability to use voice commands, hand gestures, and even eye movements to control the aircraft.