pixelkin my name is courtney holmes, i'm the website manager for pixelkin.org, and today i'm going to show you how to make a vr headset out of an android phone and a pizza box! google cardboard before we get started, there are a few things that you're going to need.
Android clipboard, one android phone one pizza box scissors and/or an x-acto knife tape
two lenses one rubber band stick-on velcro and optionally, two strong magnets and markers to decorate your creation. if you're not sure where to get all that stuff that i just listed off, i've got tons of links in the description for the video. the first thing you'll need to do is download the app cardboard from the google play store.
while that's loading on your phone, go to http://developers.google.com/cardboard to download all the files that you'll need. just click the button labeled "cardboard design files," and a pdf will save to your computer. then, you've just gotta print! it's time to cut! so you might be wondering, why would i want to make a virtual reality headset in the first place? what can i even do with it?
by the end of this video, you'll be able to walk through the palace of versailles, look into the grand canyon, ride through the streets of paris, and more. but the coolest thing about google cardboard is that all of the code is open source, meaning that any programmer can come and take advantage of what google has created. in fact, there are already a couple of games available in the google play store that use this technology. virtual reality gaming is super cool, and now, for the first time, it's easily accessible. once you've got your pattern all cut out,
it's time to start taping or gluing it onto your pizza box. you want to try to avoid any of the greasy spots because that's kinda gross. cutting out the cardboard is easily the hardest part of the whole project, so don't get discouraged. it's okay if you mess up, and it's okay if it's not perfect. we are going to use so much tape at the end of this, just, tape it all up, and it'll all be okay. some parts of the cardboard cutting will be extremely difficult without the use of an x-acto knife, so please be careful. these things can cut deep. who knew, cutting cardboard is a huge pain!
but i learned a couple of things that might make the process easier for you. for one, cutting against the grain of the cardboard is harder than cutting with it, so if you can line up your long pieces to match the lines of the cardboard, do it. also, if you own a box cutter, that would probably be easier than the tiny knife that i used. when you're done, i also recommend going back over all of the fold lines with your x-acto knife and scoring the cardboard. this will make folding the headset much easier later on.
ta daaaaa! now that you've got all three of your cardboard pieces cut out, next thing we're going to do is fold them. so we're going to start with this one. the nubbin-circles are there to hold the lenses in place. so, what i'm going to do, see the nose-holes there, is fold it like that. i've already scored the cardboard so that's a little bit easier to fold for me. now that i've got this piece finished, i'm going to open up the top take my two lenses, and drop them right in.
they should fit pretty snugly. and then just close it again. they should be very difficult to see through. that's okay! you have this little guy right here, and it should pop into the slot right in the front. it is here just to sort of fortify the whole vr headset structurally. we're going to tape the whole thing together, just to make sure that it doesn't fall apart. the next one we want to fold is this big long one. and we want it to kind of go around the eyemask that we already made.
so this is the part that's going to go against your face. it should kind of stand up on its own, but, we're going to tape it anyway! then we get to wrap it around. start at this end, over here. and you can fold this one all the way over, and then 90 degrees up, goes all the way around, and this long hole goes on top like that. ooh, it's sort of coming together, see? after this is taped, it's time to velcro!
the velcro strips will be holding the front of the vr headset closed. you might want to use two tiny little pieces of velcro, or one long one like i did. next, take the solid magnet and place it in the round hole inside of the headset. then take the second magnet and snap it into the oval on the outside. the magnets should simulate a finger tap, so you can keep the headset closed while you're in virtual reality. what's the point in doing a crafts project if you don't make it a little bit personal? that's where the markers come in. so i'm going to decorate my vr headset and make sure that it says my name all over it.
next we're going to secure your cell phone. so just open the front flap, and use your rubber band to secure it lengthwise. i've lined my camera up with the hole in the front. and...that's the last step. you've just made a virtual reality headset. come on, let's go test it out on simone. hoooo! woah! this is some marie antoinette stuff going on here. woah, ahh!
oh my god. using the virtual reality headset was actually a lot cooler than i thought it was going to be. before this i hadn't really been excited about vr technology in gaming. but now, i can't wait. it's going to be awesome.
all of the experiences were really immersive and the gaming was just, in my face. and i can't wait to hear what you guys have to say about your experiences in the comments below. if you liked this video, share it with your friends, and don't forget to check out pixelkin on facebook and twitter.
