Google Cardboard: Seriously Fun
As simple as they are, cardboard boxes are
pretty great. Maybe you transformed one into a fort or castle growing up. Or maybe your kids
took last week’s package delivery and turned the box into a puppet theater. The best part
about cardboard is that it can become anything—all you need is your imagination.
It’s this same spirit that inspired our team to turn a smartphone, and some cardboard, into a
virtual reality (VR) viewer earlier this year. Suddenly, exploring the Palace of Versailles
was as easy as opening an app. And the response was
kind of
delightful.
We’ve been working to improve Google Cardboard ever since. And today—with more than half a
million Cardboard viewers in people’s hands—we've got a fresh round of updates for users,
developers, and makers.
For users: more apps to enjoy, and more places to buy
There are now dozens of Cardboard-compatible apps on Google Play, and starting today we’re
dedicating a
new
collection page to some of our favorites. These VR experiences range from test
drives to live concerts to fully-immersive games, and they all have something amazing to
offer. So give ‘em a try today, and download the
new
Cardboard app to watch the collection grow over time.
Example apps for Cardboard (clockwise, from
top left):
Vanguard V 3D game, Paul McCartney concert, and Tilt Brush
gallery.
If you don’t have a Cardboard viewer yet, you can now pick one up from
DODOcase,
I Am Cardboard,
Knoxlabs, and
Unofficial Cardboard. And of course
you can always build your own (with new specs below!).
For developers: SDKs for Android and Unity
If you’ve ever tried creating a VR application, then you’ve probably wrestled with issues like
lens distortion correction, head tracking, and side-by-side rendering. It’s important to get
these things right, but they can suck up all your time—time you’d rather spend on gameplay or
graphics.
We want to give you that time back, so today we’re introducing
Cardboard
SDKs for Android and Unity. The SDKs simplify common VR development tasks so you can
focus on your awesome, immersive app. And with both Android and Unity support, you can use the
tools you already know and love. Download the SDKs today, and check out apps like
Caaaaardboard!
and
Tilt Brush
Gallery to see what’s already possible.
For makers: tool-specific specs, and custom viewer calibration
To help bring VR experiences to everyone, we open sourced a Cardboard viewer specification
earlier this year. Since then we’ve seen all sorts of viewers from all sorts of makers, and
today we’re investing in this community even further.
For starters, we’re publishing new building specs with specific cutting tools in mind. So
whether you’re laser- or die-cutting your Cardboard viewers in high quantities, or carving
single units with a blade,
we’ve got you
covered.
Once you’ve got your custom viewer, we also want to help you tailor the viewing experience to
its unique optical layout. So early next year we’ll be adding a viewer calibration tool to the
Cardboard SDK. You’ll be able to define your viewer’s base and focal length, for example, then
have every Cardboard app adjust accordingly.
For the future: watch this space, and we’re hiring
The growth of mobile, and the acceleration of open platforms like Android make it an
especially exciting time for VR. There are more devices, and more enthusiastic developers than
ever before, and we can’t wait to see what’s next! We’re also working on a few projects
ourselves, so if you’re passionate about VR, you should know
we’re
hiring.
Here’s to the cardboard box, and all the awesome it brings.
by Andrew Nartker, Product Manager, Google Cardboard
