Google has come up with its own answer to VR headsets… a cardboard box.
No, this isn’t a joke.
No, seriously, this is real.
OK, look. The project is called “Project Cardboard.” Basically, it’s a do it yourself kit that allows you to transform a plain old cardboard box into a VR headset enclosure that you then put an Android based smartphone into.
Stop laughing!
Of course you are going to need a little bit more than just a cardboard box. You will also need two lenses, two magnets, some Velcro, and a rubber band.
No, I’m not talking about an episode of MacGyver!
This sounds out of this world but it’s real. Google is trying to make VR cost only a few dollars and be entirely based off of your phone. “Virtual reality has made exciting progress over the past several years,” says the company. “However, developing for VR still requires expensive, specialized hardware. 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.”
It adds, “By making it easy and inexpensive to experiment with VR, we hope to encourage developers to build the next generation of immersive digital experiences and make them available to everyone.”
For more information check out the official Project Cardboard website. Also, we are totally aware that Mega 64 made a joke about this before the project was even announced.
Source: Gamasutra