Meet Virtual Reality’s Most Important Pioneers

  • Palmer Lucky, Founder of Oculus, wearing a set of Oculus goggles at the Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. on June 23, 2015.
    Gregg Segal for TIME
    1 of 7
  • Oculus game view
    Oculus
    2 of 7
  • Alex Kipman holds a Microsoft HoloLens at the Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash. on June 25, 2015.
    Gregg Segal for TIME
    3 of 7
  • Microsoft Hololens game view
    Microsoft Hololens
    4 of 7
  • Ken Birdwell, an engineer from Valve, demonstrates the Vive virtual reality headset at the Valve headquarters in Seattle, Wash. on June 25, 2015.
    Gregg Segal for TIME
    5 of 7
  • Alex Schwartz from Owlchemy Labs, juggling tomatoes in their 'Job Simulator' game for the Vive.
    Owlchemy Labs
    6 of 7
  • Clay Bavor, Vice President of Product Management at Google, wears a Google Cardboard headset at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. on June 24, 2015.
    Gregg Segal for TIME
    7 of 7

In the August 17 cover story of TIME, we take a look at the rise of virtual reality, the perpetually promised technology of the future that is finally becoming a reality. Here’s a closer look at some of the minds behind the virtual realty gear that will start going on sale in late-2015 and early-2016.

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Contact us at letters@time.com.

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