Get an extra large pizza box ready, and prepare to build yourself your very own VR headset courtesy of Google. No, you don't have to check your calendar, I assure you, it's not April anymore. During Google I/O yesterday, one of their unique announcements was the Google Cardboard project, where the presenter took out a VR headset made completely out of cardboard, with an android phone slotted in.
Curious but without a cardboard box to build it, I downloaded the Cardboard app to figure out just how it works, and it essentially simulates the double screens of a VR headset, projecting a separate image to each eye. Using the phone's built in gyroscope and camera, it is also able to track head movement perfectly.
I'm currently in the process of acquiring a pizza box and building one of these for myself, but so far I'm very intrigued. It's silly and quite genius at the same time, that Google was able to figure out an extremely cheap DIY solution to VR without having to spend hundreds of dollars.
The Cardboard app has a few built in apps like Google Earth, YouTube, Street Vue and an adorable animated short called Windy Day. The best part is that Google isn't limiting the use of Cardboard just to these apps. Developers can code their own VR experiences themselves and then share them for anyone to try.
If you're feeling crafty, you can download the instructions on building your own Google Cardboard right here.
