What can you do with a cardboard box? If you’re a Google engineer, you can craft a virtual-reality viewer.
That’s right. Although the tech giant on Wednesday announced a number of updates to its Android mobile software, the most intriguing — some say crazy — was its “Cardboard” project.
Google handed out what appeared to be a piece of cardboard at its annual I/O developers conference. The unimaginative name, coupled with the fact that Facebook got some flak for dropping $2 billion on virtual-reality goggle-maker Oculus, led attendees to think it was a joke.
But Google execs showed how the cardboard construction kit — which also includes lenses, magnets, velcro strips and a rubber band — could be folded to create a frame for a virtual-reality viewer.
Once the device is assembled, users can pop in an Android-powered phone and load up the Cardboard app, which gives several 3D demos. The use of the magnets allows users to control the phone without touching the screen.
It turns out that Cardboard was the brainchild of a couple of Google engineers, who are encouraged to use “20 percent” of their time to pursue random ideas like this one.
At the conference, Google execs said the project was aimed at making virtual reality “accessible” to more people.