“No, really?!” would be a valid first reaction to Google’s latest innovation. Made from cardboard, it looks a lot like the toys you played with in primary school.

Google Cardboard doesn’t bring anything revolutionary to the table. It’s a virtual reality headset which enables you to watch 3D images and videos with your smart phone.

What makes it different is its simplicity and accessibility.

The headset consists of corrugated cardboard, Velcro and a pair of cheap plastic lenses – the most essential part as they transform flat images on your phone into 3D ones.

Although Cardboard was developed by Google, there is no official manufacturer or vendor for the device. A list of the parts and instructions is available on the Google website. With a few basics you can assemble your own VR viewer. Add your cell phone, download the Google Cardboard app and you’re good to go 3D.

The app splits the smartphone image into two and applies “barrel distortion to each image to counter pincushion distortion from the lenses. The result is a stereoscopic (“3D”) image with a wide field of view.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Cardboard)

More info is available on https://developers.google.com/cardboard/

[SOURCES: http://www.wired.com; www.wikipedia.org]