All of us is greater than any single one of us. That’s why we open sourced the Cardboard viewer design on day one. And why we’ve been working on virtual reality (VR) tools for manufacturers and developers ever since. We want to make VR better together, and the community continues to inspire us.
For example: what began with cardboard vr box velcro and some lenses has become a part of toy fairs and art shows and film festivals all over the world. There are also hundreds of Cardboard apps on Google Play, including test drives, roller coaster rides, and mountain climbs. And people keep finding new ways to bring VR into their daily lives—from campus tours to marriage proposals to vacation planning.
It’s what we dreamed about when we folded our first piece of cardboard, and combined it with a smartphone: a VR experience for everyone! And less than a year later, there’s a tremendous diversity of VR viewers and apps to choose from. To keep this creativity going, however, we also need to invest in compatibility. That’s why we’re announcing a new program called Works with Google Cardboard.
At its core, the program enables any Cardboard viewer to work well with any Cardboard app. And the result is more awesome VR for all of us.
These days you can find Cardboard viewers made from all sorts of materials—plastic, wood, metal, even pizza boxes. The challenge is that each viewer may have slightly different optics and dimensions, and apps actually need this info to deliver a great experience. That’s why, as part of today’s program, we’re releasing a new tool that configures any viewer for every Cardboard app, automatically.
As a manufacturer, all you need to do is define your viewer’s key parameters (like focal length, input type, and inter-lens distance), and you’ll get a QR code to place on your device. Once a user scans this code using the Google Cardboard app, all their other Cardboard VR experiences will be optimized for your viewer. And that’s it.
Starting today, manufacturers can also apply for a program certification badge. This way potential users will know, at a glance, that a VR viewer works great with Cardboard apps and games. Visit the Cardboard website to get started.
