Eric Howlett

Eric Howlett

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. According to Wayne Carlson, professor of design at Ohio State University: "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 in the scene and the corresponding realism. The original LEEP system was redesigned for the NASA Ames Research Center in 1985 for their first virtual reality installation, the VIEW (Virtual Interactive Environment Workstation)) by Scott Fisher (technologist)."