Cardboard, of course, is the dirt-cheap virtual-reality headset that works with your smartphone. And Street View is the mobile version of Google's ground-level Maps feature. Put the two together and presto: Now you get a virtual-reality view of anywhere you can visit in Street View.
Back in 2014, Google responded to the growing interest in virtual reality by launching the Cardboard virtual reality platform and shipped millions of viewers. Cardboard is no longer actively developed, but Google has done the next best thing this week by deciding to turn it into an open source project(Opens in a new window).
Virtual Reality Is Now As Cheap As Cardboard On IOS
Cardboard consists of everything required to enjoy virtual reality experiences including a cheap cardboard viewer your smartphone sits inside. Google also provided a software development kit for developers to help them create Cardboard-compatible experiences for iOS and Android.
YouTube has long offered 360-degree videos so that you can pan around and watch and feel like you're in the middle of the action, though it's not the same as strapping on an immersive VR headset like Oculus Rift, which would undoubtedly be more captivating. Well, Google-owned YouTube must've felt the same way, because it's finally adding virtual reality capabilities with the latest update to its iOS app.
YouTube for iOS now supports Cardboard, Google's own viewer that lets you experience virtual reality. All you need is an iPhone, the latest version of the YouTube app, and Google Cardboard (or any certified viewing peripheral, which you can read more about from here). With Cardboard and the YouTube app, you can watch both 360-degree videos and regular videos for an immersive experience.
Keep in mind the Android version of YouTube has offered support for Google Cardboard since last November. Still, if you want to know how to watch a 360-degree video in virtual reality or any other video on a flat screen in a VR environment, we've explained exactly what to do.
Google Cardboard is a do-it-yourself cardboard kit that Google introduced in 2014 but only recently began directly selling via the Google Play Store. You can buy it for $15 and then assemble it to end up with a virtual-reality headset. It's technically considered a simple viewer - because it's not a standalone device that's ready to work from the get-go. It requires an Android or iOS smartphone for a display and processing power.
A 360 video is created with a camera system that simultaneously records all 360 degrees of a scene. When watching a 360-degree video either using a computer or mobile device, you can pan and rotate the video's perspective to watch it from different angles. Ever want to see from the perspective of a race car driver? Thanks to 360-degree video and virtual reality, you can.
Google brought virtual reality to the masses cheaply with Cardboard, a DIY headset announced at last year's I/O conference. Now, the search giant's building upon its 1 million VR viewers with an improved Cardboard headset that fits smartphone screens up to 6 inches. It also incorporates a new top-mounted button that replaces the finicky magnetic ring so that Cardboard works with any phone. And, in what's probably the most consumer-friendly move Google's made with the new and improved Cardboard, it takes just three steps to assemble. Clay Bavor, VP of Product, told I/O attendees that they'd be receiving these new DIY VR kits immediately after the keynote. And for interested VR developers, it's important to note the Cardboard SDK now works with iOS in addition to Android.
One year ago, Google introduced its first step into the world of virtual reality with an unexpected project called Google Cardboard. It allows users to slot their smartphone into a do-it-yourself cardboard viewer. When looked through you can interact with various Google services. Basically affordable VR headset for masses.
A virtual reality game based on the movie is currently in the works. Until then, you can tide yourself over with this non-interactive cinematic experience, featuring an attack on a jaeger robot from a giant kaiju monster.
In DinoTrek VR Experience, you can look around you in 360 degrees and see dinosaurs roaming the earth. The graphics of running reptiles are decent enough for a free app that shows some of the possibilities enabled with virtual reality in virtual worlds.
Three years after Cardboard, Nintendo took Google's "cheap cardboard accessory" idea and ran with it, creating the Nintendo Labo products. Labo packaged Nintendo Switch software with a boatload of pre-cut, printed cardboard sheets, which could be assembled into all sorts of cheap peripherals like a cardboard piano, or a robot suit. The Labo VR kit was an exact Google Cardboard copy: a cardboard VR headset used the Nintendo Switch as the display, letting you view Nintendo's worlds in 3D.
Many of the biggest tech firms in the world are investing heavily in virtual reality technologies: Facebook spent $2 billion to acquire Oculus Rift; Disney invested $65 million into a VR film company called Jaunt; Microsoft introduced its HoloLens this year and is selling the device to developers for $3000 apiece.
Of all the exciting new VR technology being introduced, however, Google Cardboard VR has made virtual reality most accessible to the hobbyist. In fact, with just a low-cost Google Cardboard VR headset, a smartphone and your iOS skills, you can go farther than you ever thought possible.
The smart phones, no matter an iPhone or Android system, can double as virtual reality headsets and we have plenty of Apps for that. Instead of spending lots of money to buy the headsets, the Android or iPhone handset in your pocket is a VR device in its own right too, you can download some great free VR apps for Android and iOS to enjoy the virtual reality!
To check out the new capability, turn on a video in the YouTube app, touch the screen, hit the vertically stacked three dots in the top right corner, and select Cardboard. Then throw your iPhone inside a Cardboard virtual reality headset.
To try virtual reality right from your phone, use Google Cardboard. View pictures, play games, and experience virtual reality through a VR viewer that you can buy or make at home. Learn more about how Cardboard works at
Though VR is finally making its rounds into households around the globe, the lack of content is its most notable concern. Especially outside of games and movies, virtual reality is sparsely found in our day-to-day routines.
The possibilities of virtual reality are endless and current technologies are only scratching the surface. The best way to learn about the possibilities of virtual reality is to experience it for yourself.
You can take a peek at the future of virtual reality right now using Google Cardboard, a low-cost, DIY virtual reality headset that uses your iPhone or Android smartphone to give you a 360 VR experience. You can order Google Cardboard starting at only $10.
Experience incredible stories reported by award-winning journalists, all told in an immersive, 360 degree video experience. After using NYT VR, you will be imagine all kinds of new possibilities for the next wave of virtual reality storytelling.
A curated collection of the best cinematic virtual reality, including short films, music videos, comedy and documentaries, produced with The New York Times, Vice, Saturday Night Live, U2 and others. Features industry leading 3D video with binaural sound.
VRSE is an app filled with short 3-D 360-degree videos from the documentary and feature-film-making worlds. Each of VRSE's experiencess are created and curated by Chris Milk, an expert in virtual reality storytelling. Download for iOS or Android here (Free).
The Perfect Flight allows people to "See as Rufus" via an immersive virtual reality experience that gives you the hawk's eye view of Wimbledon. Captured using drone technology, the experience follows Rufus's actual flight patterns, so participants can truly experience what he sees. Download for iOS or Android here (Free).
YouVisit VR allows you to explore thousands of riveting virtual reality experiences in a variety of industries, including travel, education, events, real estate, business, restaurants, and many more. Download for Android (Free); iOS is coming soon.
You might recall that Google unveiled its Cardboard hardware at last month's Google I/O event. Literally made of cardboard, the company's remarkably low-cost virtual reality goggles combine a split-screen 3D image from a smartphone, delivering impressive graphics for the low, low price of almost free. Combined with positional sensor data from the phone, it's possible to look around a 3D environment with a high level of fidelity.
Google released Cardboard along with a set of demonstration apps (virtual reality YouTube and Google Earth, along with a charming VR animated cartoon and more) and the Viewmaster-like visor works with other 3D apps as well. The only problem? Google intended Cardboard for Android, so Apple iPhone users were shut out of the party. At least, that's the way it might have seemed.
It turns out that you can use Google Cardboard with a number of iPhone apps right now. The only requirement to experience the same 3D virtual reality that Android users have had since Google I/O is an app that displays 3D using a split screen display. And a handful of iOS apps do that.
And there are others. Moorente is a virtual duck- hunt, where the sky is filled with dozens and dozens of 3D rendered birds. Move your head around and stare at them a moment, and your shotgun automatically fires, blasting them out of the sky. It's not much of a game, nor is it especially realistic. Instead, Moorente demonstrates the potential of virtual reality, and it's an amusing diversion to drive the point home.
The added support for the iPhone comes as Google has added support for iOS to its Cardboard SDK for developers. This means that iPhone apps can now include virtual reality experiences when paired with the Cardboard viewer. 2ff7e9595c
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