Technology done right. While Facebooks virtual reality effort involved a multi-billion dollar purchase of Oculus VR, Googles gone with a decidedly simpler route: cardboard. Following the end of its Google I/O keynote, Googles put out an app called Cardboard that lets users slot their Android device into a do-it-yourself cardboard viewer. When looked through using special lenses, you can interact with various Google services like a VR headset. This is low cost virtual reality Virtual reality has made exciting progress over the past several years. However, developing for VR still requires expensive, specialized hardware, Google said on the projects page. Thinking about how to make VR accessible to more people, a group of VR enthusiasts at Google experimented with using a smartphone to drive VR experiences. The result is Cardboard, which in its current state requires some DIY elbow grease. In order to build it you need a pair of lenses with a 40mm focal distance to keep the phones screen in focus. The kit also requires magnets, velcro, a rubber band, and an NFC tag if you want to tap your device to the headset to launch the app right away. Some of the early examples of things you can do: • Earth: Fly where your fancy takes you on Google Earth. • Tour Guide: Visit Versailles with a local guide. • YouTube: Watch popular YouTube videos on a massive screen. • Exhibit: Examine cultural artifacts from every angle. • Photo Sphere: Look around the photo spheres youve captured. • Street Vue: Drive through Paris on a summer day. • Windy Day: Follow the story (and the hat) in this interactive animated short from Spotlight Stories.
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 19:15:53 +0000