{"id":9021,"date":"2015-11-20T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2015-11-20T06:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/?p=9021"},"modified":"2015-11-20T09:42:15","modified_gmt":"2015-11-20T07:42:15","slug":"google-cardboard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/2015\/11\/google-cardboard\/","title":{"rendered":"Life in 3DLewe in 3D"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“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.<\/p>\n

\"cardboard\"Google Cardboard doesn’t bring anything revolutionary to the table. It’s\u00a0a virtual reality headset which enables you to watch 3D images and videos with your smart phone.<\/p>\n

What makes it different is its simplicity and accessibility.<\/p>\n

The headset consists\u00a0of 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.<\/p>\n

Although Cardboard was\u00a0developed by Google, there is no\u00a0official manufacturer or vendor for the device. A list of the parts and instructions is available on the Google website<\/a>. With a few basics you can assemble your own VR viewer. Add your cell phone, download the Google Cardboard app<\/a> and you’re good to go 3D.<\/p>\n

The app splits the smartphone image into two and applies “barrel distortion to each image to counter pincushion distortion from the lenses.\u00a0The result is a stereoscopic (“3D”) image with a wide field of view.” (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Google_Cardboard<\/a>)<\/p>\n

More info is available on\u00a0https:\/\/developers.google.com\/cardboard\/<\/a><\/p>\n