Computer History Museum marks 60 years with extended reality exhibition

The Computer History Museum in Mountain View is celebrating nearly 60 years of augmented and virtual reality technology with a special interactive exhibit.

The new exhibit, "Extended Reality: Visions of the Future," takes visitors on a journey through the evolution of technology, blending the digital world with our own. It features augmented and virtual reality technology over several decades, guided by industry pioneers like Bernard Kress, director of optical engineering for extended reality at Google.

"This is the very first augmented reality headset," said Kress as he gave a tour of the exhibit. "It's called the Sword of Damocles by Ivan Sutherland."

More than 100 devices are on display, including the world's first AR headset developed in the 1960s. Visitors also can take part in interactive demos to see how today's extended reality glasses work, some even designed by Kress himself.

"Yeah, I worked on this, " said Kress, pointing to Google Glass smart glasses on display. "Actually, I worked on these and also on the HoloLens headset that you can see over there."

Kress said the technology is finally hitting a major turning point.

"We think that for the first time in 20 years, this is really the year where smart glasses or AI glasses will take off," said Kress.

He said the technology has matured, and artificial intelligence is the missing piece that makes these glasses useful in everyday life.

"Well, today, a lot of people are using AI already in their daily lives, but it's on their phone," said Kress. "It's on the tablet or it's on a computer. Imagine the same help on your face with an assistant that you don't need to take out of your pocket-an assistant that sees what you're seeing, hears what you're hearing, so it's so much more powerful."

The demos are even catching the eye of the next generation, including young museum visitor Alessandra Hsia.

"I've learned a lot by looking at the demos, and I've never seen anything so complex or so detailed," said Hsia.

The Computer History Museum's "Extended Reality: Visions of the Future" exhibit runs through March 28th, 2027. Interactive XR demonstrations are offered on select Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m.

It's an exhibit designed for the public to showcase a new way to see the world through the ever-evolving landscape of extended reality.