Eric Howlett

Eric Howlett
Born
Eric Mayorga Howlett

(1926-12-27)December 27, 1926
Miami, Florida
DiedDecember 11, 2011(2011-12-11) (aged 84)
Alma materMIT
OccupationInventor

Eric Mayorga Howlett (December 27, 1926 – December 11, 2011) was the inventor of the LEEP (Large Expanse Extra Perspective), extreme wide-angle stereoscopic optics used in photographic and virtual reality systems.[1]

According to Wayne Carlson, professor of design at Ohio State University, in 2005:[2]

"The Large Expanse, Extra Perspective (LEEP) optical system was designed by Eric Howlett in 1979 and provides the basis for most of the current virtual reality helmets available today. The combined system gave a very wide field of view stereoscopic image. The users of the system have been impressed by the sensation of depth [field of view] in the scene and the corresponding realism. The original LEEP system was redesigned [used] for the NASA Ames Research Center in 1985 for their first virtual reality installation, the VIEW (Virtual Interactive Environment Workstation) by Scott Fisher."

  1. ^ "Eric Howlett | High Tech History". Archived from the original on 2013-09-26. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  2. ^ Wayne, Thomas (December 2005). ""Virtual Reality and Artificial Environments", A Critical History of Computer Graphics and Animation Section 17". Ohio State University Department of Design. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2024.