At a recent Google I/O event announcing Android 5.0 Google showcased their novelty Google Cardboard project which for practically no money converts a smartphone into a 3D virtual reality viewer. Apart from the cardboard (apparently an old pizza box will do just fine) and an optional NFC tag you will need a couple of lenses and a few household items such as a rubber band, magnet and some velcro.

A luxury (ready-made) version by vrAse working on the same principle has already been on the market for a few months now. The technology is of course transferable to iPhone platforms and its early days yet but we are sure to see loads of 3D VR friendly apps appearing in the near future. To go with the viewer Google have an 'open software toolkit' which is claimed to make writing VR software as simple as building a web or mobile app. Is it just me or are those other types of high-end virtual reality headsets now starting to look a tad over-engineered?

Source Google Cardboard