From its inception as a technology, virtual reality has promised to revolutionize the way we interact with our computers and each other. So far, the reality of virtual reality has not lived up to the hype. This paper explores what the state of virtual reality interface technology will be in the future by analyzing the current state of the art, forecasting trends in areas relevant to virtual reality interface research and development, and highlighting the barriers to providing virtual reality environments that are immersive and interactively indistinguishable from reality (strong VR). This research shows that the evolutionary pathway of virtual reality technology development will not be able to overcome all of the barriers and limitations inherent in the current generation of interfaces. I use a reverse tree methodology to explore alternate pathways to achieve strong VR. Brain-machine interfaces (invasive and non-invasive) represent the most likely pathway that will lead to a strong VR interface. The US Air Force should continue to develop common VR interface technology using widely available interfaces, but should increase its funding and support for technologies that will enable enhanced brain-machine interfaces to ensure its dominance in training and simulation for the future.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
