How to make virtual reality glasses yourself. How to make virtual reality glasses for a smartphone with your own hands. Preparing a template for Google Cardboard

Cardboard virtual reality glasses immerse a person in a completely new experience for him. With them, you can ride a rollercoaster or feel like the main character in your favorite horror movie without getting up from the couch. To do this, you just need to figure out how they are arranged and how to use them.

In order to preserve the cardboard casing, Google Cardboard is shipped folded only. Therefore, if virtual reality glasses were bought as a present, then the birthday boy will be pleased if his gift is pre-assembled. This is done simply and excitingly, reminiscent of a constructor or a puzzle. The main thing is to follow the step-by-step instructions and everything will work out. For complete convenience, we recommend laying out the case and additional parts as shown in the diagram below.

Step 1.

Insert the eyepiece with lenses (det. 2) into section 1.1. as shown in the figure. In this case, the front side of the eyepiece should be directed at you.

Step 2

Gently fold the body (det. 1), bending it alternately along the lines from right to left, i.e. from point 1.4. to 1.5. As a result, the eyepiece will be closed from 4 sides. In this case, it will be possible to combine its holes with the protruding parts of the eyepiece.

Step 3

To fix the resulting structure, we need to fix two sections. To do this, remove the protective layer from the self-adhesive strip 1.6. and fasten sections 1.4 with it. and 1.5. For strength, fit all protruding parts to the corresponding holes. If it seemed to you that the band 1.6. does not hold everything as securely as we would like, then you can use adhesive tape.

Step 4

Install the baffle (det. 3) into the holes of the eyepiece and section 1.1. Then insert the magnetic ring (det. 5) into the oval hole located in section 1.5. Touch your smartphone to the border between section 1.1. and 1.7. to assess the fit of his size with glasses. If the smartphone turned out to be smaller, then for comfortable use of the gadget, install an additional step (det 4.). Now it remains to drag the assembled body with a tourniquet (det. 6) to completely secure the structure.

Step 5

Attach a special elastic band to hold the glasses if you purchased them in the same kit with Google Cardboard.

Step 6

A smartphone with an Android or iOS operating system is the "heart" of Google Cardboard. Paste it into section 1.7. Launch the desired app and attach the lid to the Velcro fasteners. Now you can ride the rollercoaster ;)

Application search.

There are more and more interesting applications - games, virtual tours, videos, etc. To find applications compatible with your smartphone, use keywords:

• cardboard;
• google cardboard;
• stereo pair.

To search for videos on YouTube, use two tags - "stereo pair" or "sbs".

A few tips.

• Google glasses apps drain your phone's battery significantly. We recommend that you turn on the airplane mode or at least not go far from the outlet;
• some applications may put you in an active gesture state. Therefore, try to stand or sit further from objects that can be accidentally broken;
• using headphones, you can immerse yourself in the virtual world even deeper;
• it’s better to buy glasses along with an elastic holder so that your hands don’t accidentally drop the gadget at some unexpected moment.

Good afternoon (optional evening/night).

Today I will tell you about how you can make virtual reality glasses with your own hands, without phones(Traffic!):

FOREWORD

For now NO the official standard for VR goggles/masks and things like that. About Oculus, HTC, Samsung, Sony, etc. there is no point in talking and comparing. These are just devices with different functionality + / -, some gadgets. There is no point in arguing about what VR is, everyone sees it in their own way.

I have long wanted to play with this kind of thing, but phone glasses do not appeal to me, it is inconvenient, heavy and few applications, poor synchronization with the PC, phone battery, radio channel delay.

In the process of working on my experiment, 2 nuances that were important to me were highlighted:

1. Head tracking.
2. Display instead of phone.

Based on these nuances, I started building the unit.

I will say right away that the thing is in itself and does not pretend to be quality, everyone can repeat the manufacture of this helmet based on the instructions received.

ACCESSORIES

For glasses, I needed the following components:

materiel

The first thing to do is a warning:

All responsibility, namely independent penetration into the body of the finished product with subsequent violation of its integrity of performance, lies with the person who committed this action.

Frame:

The body will have to be assembled separately for the matrix, due to the fact that the matrix is ​​quite voluminous and a different focusing distance is required. Lenses need to be replaced. From this body the part applied to the head and nose will be taken.

Controller:

The main task is to synchronize the controller with the matrix, I knew that the controller and the matrix would work, but whether I would get the necessary permission is another question.

Here's an excerpt from the datasheet:

My display has an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a resolution that falls within the 1920x1440 range.

The problem is that the controller has the wrong resolution, and it needs to be flashed.

Initially, when connecting the display, instead of a picture, I got a set of stripes. (I even thought that the display itself was covered).

But after a while (when connected to a computer), it became clear that the display was outputting something, but it was clear that it had a problem with synchronization and resolution.

When flashing, I went through more than a dozen and settled on this version:

Now, when connected to a computer, the display shows information that the HDMI connector is connected and offers a resolution of 1024x600. In this case, the display is actively trying to receive a signal from the VGA, while the message appears - "Connect the VGA cable."

I had to scratch my head again. This controller is a direct analogue of boards with a large number of connectors, for example:

This means that you need to unsolder the buttons on your controller so that you can configure the display and switch operating modes. I am attaching the diagram for the connectors, the buttons hang on the 53rd leg of the chip:

Just in case, I am attaching the RTD2660 chip diagram:

After flashing and switching the controller to HDMI mode. The display began to start from under WIndows 7, my surprise was great when, in addition to the native, naive resolution of 1024x600, I was able to set the resolution to 720p and 1080p. At 720p it works fine, it doesn’t distort, but at 1080p the fonts are no longer readable, but it holds it just the same, surprise, running games at 720p is more fun than at 1024x600 (not all games support low resolutions).

Matrix:

I have already played with glasses on the phone, the resolution was 960X540. I launched Half-life 2, Portal, but I didn’t like that it was a phone and that you couldn’t look at the space with your head, rotated the mouse + Wi-fi delays, just pissed me off and didn’t let me play. In general, the pixels are visible, but I still liked it.

A 7-inch 1024x600 matrix was removed from the parts box, part number 7300130906 E231732 NETRON-YFP08. Based on the available resolution of the matrix, we can conclude that for each eye the resolution will be 512x600, which is slightly more than the phone screen resolution and, most importantly, there will be no delays.

The matrix connector has 50 pins and is fully compatible with the display controller.

To achieve maximum contrast and juiciness of the image, you will have to remove the matte film from the matrix. Since the product will be closed, any glare is not terrible.

Matrix refinement is carried out in 7 stages:

1. parse the matrix along the edge of the frame;

2. put the module on the lining (here you can stick the edges of the module to the lining with adhesive tape so that water does not spoil the part);

3. a damp cloth is placed on top of the display, preferably the size of a matte film;

4. the napkin is gently soaked with a small amount of water about 25 degrees;

5. we wait about 2 - 3 hours, it all depends on the quality of the coating. (adhesive for matte films is sensitive to water);

6. gently pry off the edge and slowly, without jerking, remove the matte layer;

7. check.

If you want to collect points on a 2K display, then I will give you a link:

For this price on Ali, you can buy a finished device with FullHD ->

Therefore, I did not spend money on the concept and decided to use what is available for testing.

Arduino and gyroscope:

The most important part of getting the effect of presence in a game, application or video is the ability to control the head, which means we will write head tracking.

Excerpt from official source for Arduino Leonardo:

Unlike all previous boards ATmega32u4 has native support for USB connection, this allows you to set how Leonardo will be seen when connected to a computer, it can be a keyboard, mouse, virtual serial / COM port.

That's exactly what I need.

The gyroscope was chosen as the simplest and most common - GY521, it has an accelerometer on board:

1. Accelerometer ranges: ±2, ±4, ±8, ±16g
2. Gyroscope ranges: ±250, 500, 1000, 2000°/s
3. Voltage range: 3.3V - 5V (the module include a low drop-out voltage regulator)

Gyro connection:

#include #include #include #include MPU6050mpu; int16_t ax, ay, az, gx, gy, gz; int vx, vy; void setup() ( Serial.begin(115200); Wire.begin(); mpu.initialize(); if (!mpu.testConnection()) ( while (1); ) ) void loop() ( mpu.getMotion6( &ax, &ay, &az, &gx, &gy, &gz); vx = (gx+300)/200; vy = -(gz+100)/200; Mouse.move(vx, vy); delay(2); )

Based on the sketch, we can conclude that head tracking is essentially a gyro mouse.

CONCEPT

It all came down to the division into stages:

1. fitting head tracking;
2. writing tracker firmware;
3. ordering the necessary controller for the display;
4. setting up and launching the display with the controller;
5. fitting and general assembly.

This is how debugging a head tracker with a gyroscope looked like:

Head tracker video:

Launching a display with a controller:

To run the display, I need the Tridef 3D program, which allows you to run games and applications with the Side by Side image, which I used as a test.

The reason for using it is quite clear, these glasses will not be recognized as Oculus DK1 / DK2 glasses, and in order for the device to be recognized as VR glasses of at least the first revisions of the oculus, it is necessary to completely change the display controller software, which I can’t afford yet, so but either partial prototyping will be required, or a board concept should be created again based on such gyroscopes that are used in oculuses -

But due to the fact that I decided not to spend a lot on this project and I am not going to make money on it either, we will leave this for other people. (I know who makes sets with oculus firmware based on such smart glasses, but I will not advertise them, the post is not about them)

Frame

Having played enough with a standard body, I decided to try on the matrix for it and was very disappointed, the matrix turned out to be too large for the focal length, I saw everything but did not see the whole picture, it did not add up into a single one.
The assembly of the hull began from scratch.

Having broken off all the protruding parts, as well as fastening the belt for the head, I received the following set:

Actually, like many prototypes, I chose corrugated cardboard as the most flexible, easily accessible material:

Testing

In the process of testing, the glasses showed themselves extremely well, it is a pleasure to play at 720p resolution. The gyroscope works fine and works out head movements, the mouse does not float along the coordinates, I passed the cable through my head behind me, 3 meters was more than enough.

Nuance:
The glasses stick out quite a lot, although the mass is not very large, you have to get used to turning your head.

The disadvantages of such a system:

1. You need a smaller matrix in order to reduce the length of the body.
2. We need high-quality lenses (for mine I took them from magnifiers in the nearest print shop).

In general, for myself, as an undemanding person will go.

As I play enough with all this, I will make an 8D projector out of this matrix and controller. (Watch the reviews)

Thank you for your attention, patience will be happy to answer your comments.

Due to the growing popularity of VR technologies, many people want to join them. To date, there are many different variations and models of devices on sale, of various price categories. Nevertheless, some users, out of curiosity or in order to save money, are wondering how to make virtual reality glasses with their own hands from cardboard or plastic (which is already more difficult)?

This option is suitable, first of all, for those who have a modern smartphone with a large screen and a built-in set of sensors (more on the required sensors below). According to statistics, a large part of the population uses such devices in the world. Thus, with insignificant monetary and certain time costs, the user can make excellent three-dimensional glasses with his own hands. About what is needed for this and how all the parts are assembled, we will consider below.

A curious point is that a simplified construction of cardboard and simple lenses is manufactured and distributed even by Google, they are called Cardboard. Their VR glasses, even in this design, are available in several versions that are not difficult to replicate at home.

Moreover, the company itself provided all the necessary information in the public domain.

Thus, it is not necessary to talk about the relevance of the issue under consideration.

What you need to assemble VR glasses at home

Before worrying about the materials and components of future glasses, you should make sure that your smartphone is compatible with the technology. Phone settings should provide comfortable work with 3D movies, games and other virtual reality projects.

Suitable for such purposes, for example:

• Android 4.1 JellyBean or better
• iOS 7 or higher
• Windows Phone 7.0 and so on

The screen diagonal must be at least 4.5 inches for comfortable and full-fledged operation of all applications.

What sensors are needed:

• Magnetometer, i.e. digital compass
• Accelerometer
• Gyroscope

The last two conditions are mandatory for most virtual applications, otherwise, the user will be able to view only . Without these two components, it is not possible to fully evaluate VR technology.

It should be noted that for self-production you will not need expensive or rare components. So, now let's move on to the list of necessary materials for making VR glasses with your own hands at home:

• Cardboard. It is recommended to use the most dense and at the same time thin variations, such as corrugated cardboard. Cardboard must be in the form of a single sheet with dimensions of at least 22x56 cm and a thickness of not more than 3 mm.
• lenses. The best option would be to use biconvex aspherical lenses with a focal length of 40-45 mm and 25 mm in diameter. It is recommended to use the glass version instead of plastic.
• magnets. You will need two magnets: neodymium in the form of a ring and ceramic in the form of a disk. Dimensions should be 19 mm in diameter and 3 mm thick. As a substitute, you can use ordinary food foil. Alternatively, you can use a full mechanical button.
• Velcro i.e. textile fastener. Such material requires two strips of approximately 20-30 mm each.
• Rubber. The length of the elastic band must be at least 8 cm, since it will be used to attach the smartphone.

In addition to materials, you will also need some tools: ruler, scissors, glue. Based on their capabilities and ingenuity, some materials and tools can be replaced with alternatives, if functionality does not suffer from this.

As you already understand, some materials and tools will not be enough for the manufacture, and even more so the assembly of the whole structure. Of course, this requires a drawing or simply a template scheme for creating virtual reality glasses.

You can find a template for cutting out glasses below. It can be easily printed and then pasted onto a sheet of cardboard. Since the expanded version of the glasses goes beyond the usual landscape format (and is 3 A4 sheets), then you will have to carefully and accurately combine all the fragments at the junctions.

To download the template to your computer, you need to right-click on the picture, and then click on the item "Save Image As".

3 parts template

Below you will see 3 large pictures that will need to be printed and then pasted onto cardboard so that all joints are respected.

Finished result on cardboard

This is the end result that you should get by joining 3 parts of an A4 sheet on cardboard.

Cut out cardboard construction

This is what we got after we completely cut out the cardboard according to the drawing. Carefully follow the numbers, and connect all the parts correctly.

Where to get eyeglass lenses

In this issue, it is the lenses that are the most inaccessible component. If you can’t find them at the nearest stores and outlets, you can do a search on the Internet.

Among the available and most likely places that may offer a similar product for sale, the following can be noted:

• Shops category "Optics". Here the goods are measured in dimensions - diopters, and for glasses you will need lenses of at least +22 diopters.
• Stationery stores. Loupes (i.e. magnifying glasses) are sold here, tenfold lenses should work as an alternative.
• Search on domestic sites and trading platforms, or on foreign online auctions.
• Make from a plastic bottle (more in the video instructions)

In the event that the lenses obtained by the user differ to a certain extent from the specified standard, it will be necessary to either grind the lenses themselves or make appropriate adjustments to the design of the glasses. Often the problem can be solved by providing in its design a device for adjusting the distance from the smartphone to the lens.

How to make glasses without lenses

Those who suggest the option of creating VR glasses without lenses can immediately forget about it. Without special lenses, the resulting design will be no different from ordinary glasses or glass. Such a design will not bring any practical benefit, except that it can be used to create the effect of a cinema.

Step-by-step instructions on how to make do-it-yourself virtual reality glasses from cardboard

So, when the user has all the materials, tools and a printed template, then you can start assembling.

First step

1. Glue the template onto cardboard
2. Cut along the contour
3. Bend and fasten separate places

The first step is to stick the drawing on a sheet of cardboard. The main thing is to be careful and observe accuracy at the joints so that the dimensions are not distorted. Then all the elements must be carefully cut along the contour. According to special marks on the drawing, it will be clear in which places the structure needs to be bent, and in which to fasten.

Second step

1. Insert lenses into the finished design
2. magnet fastener
3. Foam lining on cardboard

Next, it is necessary to insert lenses into the already assembled frame, and, if necessary, fix them to increase the reliability of fasteners. Then a strip of foil or magnets is glued to create a semblance of a control button.

To increase the comfort of using the resulting device, in places of contact with the head, the surface can be overlaid with foam rubber or other softening material.

Video instruction

Certain points from the above algorithm of actions for assembling the structure under consideration may be incomprehensible or cause difficulties. In this case, you can familiarize yourself with the visual and step-by-step execution of all actions on the attached video instruction.

This is a fairly simple and cheap option that will satisfy the needs of a wide range of users. Once I've got it all right, don't forget to read the article about how to use it comfortably.

So, you have downloaded and tried the methods described above, and have chosen the most suitable one for you personally for quick work. Let's agree that you have a smartphone or tablet with a 6-7 "diagonal, two pairs of lenses (you can try with one pair, but my scheme is still of two, there may be discrepancies, use at your discretion), programs are installed and materials are purchased with tools.The first step will be to make the first frame for the first pair of lenses.I made it out of foam, and in theory, it would be nice to have a center drill on hand, even for concrete, which sockets are cut into, but in general, any one, such as a sliding cutter for wood or even compasses. I didn’t have any of this at hand, so I had to cut out round holes with a Walter White clerical knife, which, with a lens diameter smaller than mine, would be completely untidy. So, the first blank is a frame for two lenses, as on picture below.

In order to make it, you will need to put the smartphone on the table with the screen up, bend over it, and pick up the lenses, bring them to your eyes, trying to find the focal length. You need to strive for the minimum distance between the face and the screen, so that it fits into the "lens" and the 3D effect is observed. If this effect is not observed, shifted or distorted, do not despair, for a start it will be enough to understand the focal length, or rather, the amount by which you need to remove the lenses from the smartphone. And what about the distance between the lenses in this pair? It's simple - find the value that is in the middle between the distance between the pupils and the distance between the centers of the halves of the frame (half the long side of the screen). Let's say we have 65 mm between the eyes, and the screen is 135 mm, half of it is 67.5 mm, so you need to place the centers of the lenses by about 66 mm, this is enough for a first approximation.

Now, after we have marked the required distances, we cut out the holes for the lenses. Roughly evaluating the density of the foam, I thought that it was enough to firmly install the lens, if you make a hole for it with a diameter slightly smaller than the lens itself, I reduced the cut circle by 2mm in diameter, which perfectly coincided with the assumption. Your parameters may be different, but the essence is the same - make the holes a little smaller. You need to drown the lens shallowly, I drowned it by 2 mm, below it will be clear why, and probably there is no need to mention that it would be nice to place the lenses in the same plane, that is, they should both be drowned evenly.

The first stage is over, now we have the screen-to-lens distance mock-up, and we can move on. Remember what I said about two pairs of lenses? They may not be that important in an optical sense (in fact, they are important), but they are invaluable for further tuning. Let's say you set up the first pair of lenses as described above, turned on a 3D image (game, movie, your choice) on your smartphone, and are trying to find three-dimensionality. One pair of lenses didn’t let me do it like that with a swoop. But when I brought the second pair to my eyes, and after playing with the distances I found the right position, a three-dimensional image immediately appeared on the screen. To achieve this, you need to simultaneously move the lenses relative to the screen, in a plane parallel to this screen and the first pair of lenses, up and down and to the sides. Find a detail in the image that you can trace the parallax effect, focus on it and try to connect the images in each eye so that they match. With some skill, this is done very quickly, but, unfortunately, I cannot suggest a way to speed up this process. I was helped by such a test stand, here the lower pair of lenses is already in foam and set to the screen, and the upper pair, framed in polyethylene, moreover, each lens is separate, I moved before my eyes, in search of "stereo", and under the whole structure - screen at the right height:

Sooner or later you will get fresh, juicy, fashionable youth 3D, but due to the introduction of the second optical pair into the circuit, the first focus setting will go a little wrong. There is no need to be scared, all that is required is to reconfigure the focus again. To do this, you first need to make a frame for the second pair of lenses that you just set up. My advice is to first copy your first frame, correcting for the changed distance between the lenses, and then visually estimate the distance between the first and second pair of lenses after you have set up the 3D. It will be enough by eye, and this distance should be compared with the thickness of the material - well, literally, whether the distance between the pairs is greater, or less than the thickness of the foam. If it’s smaller, everything is simple, you will need to install the lenses in the second frame a little deeper, by the required amount, but if this distance is greater than the thickness of the foam, you can simply turn the first frame with the more recessed side towards you, so you don’t have to fence a garden of spacers between two frames. In my case, this happened, I turned the first frame on the contrary, folded these frames with the more recessed sides to each other, and slightly recessed the lenses inward on each side.

So, we got an optical device that allows us to view 3D on a smartphone screen. But, of course, we remember the focus, which was changed first by introducing the second pair of lenses, and then also by flipping the first pair with the other side, so the focus needs to be adjusted again. When you get the focus through some simple movements, you will need to notice this distance, and make foam supports so high that when you set your first frame above the screen, the image in the lenses will be in focus.

Here it is necessary to say the following, in my opinion an important property, I'm not exactly sure of its nature, but I observed it repeatedly in experimental subjects. Many actions in life require repeated approach, the use of approximation and iteration. This, apparently, is not clear to everyone, but almost always this method works, and gives a better result, if you follow a simple algorithm - try and improve. So in the case of this helmet - the same story, perhaps the first time you will not be able to make two correct pairs of frames, for example, I redid one pair three times, and the second - twice, and I already know that I will redo more, because there are ideas for improvements. But with each reworking, the quality increased and the picture got better, so if you did a couple of approaches, but you “didn’t succeed” - don’t despair, take a break and start again, keep going. The result is worth it.

A small hint - if the resulting eyepiece (as I will call a block of two pairs of lenses and their frames assembled together) has a good stereo image, but the focal length has grown significantly relative to the first approximations, disassemble the eyepiece in half into two frames and play with the distances, perhaps there is a more optimal one - it may be necessary to turn one of the eyepieces upside down, or maybe space them apart. Remember that you need to achieve the maximum number of useful pixels (otherwise it will be uninformative) and the minimum distance from the screen (otherwise it will be cumbersome). If you have a wonderful, wonderful focal length, and for some reason the stereo base failed - carefully cut the foam in the middle between the lenses with a knife and look - you need to move them apart, or bring them together, and there already act according to the situation. Roughly speaking, you will have two eyepieces, one for each eye, adjust them, and when it works, glue them together with double-sided tape.

At this stage, the story with lenses ends, and now it doesn’t matter whether you made the optical design according to my version, or based on your own considerations, then it will not be so important, the rest of the story is suitable for any option.

Breadboard helmet assembly

Having found the total focal length from the eyepiece to the screen, we have to make a box on its base, and here there are even more options than at the lens stage. But, now you have in your hands the “heart”, or rather the “eyes” of the device, and its most complex detail, which means that it will be easier further. Let's say you managed to do all of the above correctly, and you can confidently observe a 3D image by placing eyepieces on your eyes and leaning over your smartphone. After playing around with this demo layout, you will probably notice some features of the lens placement and eyepiece comfort that you personally will find the most in need of optimization. Do not limit yourself too much, optimize and improve something for yourself, for your eyesight, the shape of the nose and skull, and so on.

For example, after making the eyepiece, I put it on my face and realized that I was kissing a foam brick. Convenience is exactly zero, and this helmet is still worn on the head for some time! Therefore, in the manufacture of the box, I tried to increase the comfort of wearing at the same time as a reliable and convenient location of the smartphone inside. I had to get rid of the inner side of the foam, and replace it with polyethylene foam, it is yellow in the picture. It is more flexible and allows you to twist the shape over a wide range, so the inner surface of the helmet is made of it. It should fit snugly to the face in the area of ​​​​the eyes and around the nose, otherwise you will constantly observe fogging of the lenses from breathing, immediately consider this point. There was an idea to make this part from a construction or swimming mask, but they were not at hand, so I did it myself, however, the option with a ready-made mask may seem preferable to you, and I advise it with pleasure. I myself also decided to make the sides for the helmet adjacent to the head.

Another point to keep in mind is the weight of the smartphone and the lever on which it will work, exercising pressure on the support. My xperia ultra weighs 212 grams, and the required distance to which it is removed from the face is 85 mm, plus the own weight of the box - all this together, I would say, makes the helmet comfortable with reservations. He has one strap behind him, this will be seen in the picture at the end of the section, this strap is made of a rubber band, 40mm wide, which pulls him quite tightly to the back of the head, but whether the screen is heavier, or the lever is larger (read the focal length is longer) - wearing a helmet was would be much more difficult. So for owners of devices with a larger diagonal or weight, I advise you to immediately think over the attachment scheme on the head with a second, transverse strap from the bridge of the nose to the back of the head, and it’s more convenient and safer.

Also, at this stage, you will need to think about another nuance - sound output. I have several pairs of headphones, both closed and open types, there are earplugs and so on, but on reflection, I did not build a helmet around large and comfortable Sony MDR with large ear cushions, but chose simple earplugs. It may be critical for you to make a helmet with a cool sound, in which case you need to immediately imagine exactly how you will articulate the headphones, their arc and the helmet with its mount. I had such a temptation, which quickly evaporated at the stage of prototyping, but I will definitely return to it in the next, improved version of the helmet, if I decide to do it. In any case, you will need a hole in the helmet shell that matches the position of the audio output of your smartphone.

So, I have such a device on my table - an eyepiece with an inner surface slightly adjusted to the shape of the head. It already sits comfortably on the face, fits in width, and for its manufacture I only needed such a template, cut from a piece of foam, curved in the shape of the head, it will fit with some edits to both the top and bottom of the helmet:

Earlier, we found out the focal length of the eyepiece in several approaches. Now you need to position the smartphone screen at the right distance. Remember that the screen must be positioned so that its horizontal axis of symmetry coincides in height with an imaginary line between the pupils, but the fact that it must be positioned symmetrically relative to the face is already clear to you. In my case, the distance between the screen and the side of the eyepiece closest to it was 43 mm, so I made the top and bottom surfaces of foam, as well as two side inserts. The result was a foam box, which, having put it on the screen, could already be used for its intended purpose, and this is where the template shown above was needed.

At this stage, there were several minor adjustments to the focus and location of the smartphone, after that - an accurate measurement of the results obtained and cutting out the outer, cardboard case. It serves two purposes - it protects the rather delicate foam from mechanical damage, I quite easily pressed it with my fingers at the stage of initial experiments, I had to follow this, and the second and main goal is that the cardboard will hold the screen in the right position, pressing it to the foam.

As a result, we got such a box, with a lid on the upper front part, under which the smartphone is hidden.

Having tried on the helmet to the head, and having seen enough of all kinds of 3D, I corrected minor inconveniences inside the helmet, and made a mount - an elastic band to the head. It is simply sewn together with a ring, and glued with double-sided tape to the cardboard, plus it is seized on top with a silver oracal, which was used to replace the tape. The result was something like this:

By the way, this image shows another technical hole, which is used to connect the USB cable, which we will need a little later. And this is what the helmet looks like on the head of the experimental person who donated lenses for this helmet:

So what happened in the end.
Dimensions: 184x190x124 mm
Curb weight: 380 grams
USB input/output
3.5mm headphone jack
Useful screen area 142x75 mm
Resolution 1920x1020 pixels

It's time to move on to the program part of our journey.

Available features of the VR helmet

Viewing 3D video

The very first thing that comes to mind is watching movies in 3D. This is a very simple and understandable entry point into virtual reality, although, more strictly speaking, it is rather a threshold not far from it, the previous step. But, in order not to belittle the merits of this type of entertainment, I inform you that watching 3D movies in the resulting helmet is a very interesting and fun activity. I've only seen two films, so I'm not tired yet, but the feeling is very good: imagine that you are a meter and a half from the wall that you are looking straight at. Without turning your head, try to look around the area with your eyes - this will be the screen available to you. Yes, there is a small resolution - each eye gets only 960x540 pixels from a fullHD movie, but nevertheless, this leaves a quite tangible impression.

To watch movies in this form, you will need a free MX Player with a codec installed for your processor, I have it ARMv7 Neon, well, actually, a video file. It is easy to find them on all kinds of torrent trackers, the technology is called Side-By-Side or SBS for short, feel free to search for these keywords. The player has the ability to adjust the aspect ratio of the video being played, which is extremely useful for SBS files that otherwise stretch vertically to fill the screen. In my case, I needed to go to the settings - "screen" - "aspect" and selecting "manually" set the aspect ratio to 18 to 4, otherwise you will get vertically stretched images. I tried to look for other players with similar functionality, but I didn’t find it, if you know, add it to the knowledge box.

In general, I have nothing more to add to this point - an ordinary 3D cinema is in front of your eyes, everything is very similar to going to the cinema, or watching on a 3D TV with polarized glasses, for example, but at the same time there are differences, in general, if you like 3D, you should try a VR helmet.

Android apps for Durovis Dive and similar systems

The whole story actually started from this point. In principle, the following three links show almost all possible programs for android at the moment:
www.divegames.com/games.html
www.refugio3d.net/downloads
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.samples.apps.cardboarddemo

What do we need to enjoy virtual reality comfortably? Obviously - a joystick, or any other controller, for example - a wireless keyboard. In my case with a Sony smartphone, the natural and logical choice is the native and natively supported PS3 controller, but since I didn’t have this at hand, but turned out to be the good old Genius MaxFire G-12U, I added a microUSB to USB adapter to it , hooked it up to a smartphone, and was not even surprised that it immediately began working both in the device interface and in individual programs without any questions.

You will also need headphones, because immersion in virtual reality without sound will be incomplete. I have these ordinary plugs, and you figure out for yourself how more convenient.

What should and should not be expected from the applications presented in this section? The fact is that all applications in general that are written for android on the topic of virtual reality are very scarce, to put it mildly. If you run them without a helmet and try, well, to see what kind of virtuality it is, then there is a chance that you will not want to buy or make a helmet. They are frankly very raw and miserable, and do not represent anything super-interesting.

But. When you put your head in a helmet, everything becomes completely different, and personally, I, who am skeptical of everything, would never believe it, nevertheless it is true.

The main thing to consider is head tracking. Even with its poor implementation, or braking, this is a completely new and unexplored field for sensations, believe me, before the appearance of the helmet, you have not felt anything like this for a very long time, since adventures with rock climbers in the mountains, walking along the bottom of the oceans, spending the night in the forest and other mass murders that we all love so much. The helmet provides a completely unrealistic feeling of reality, I'm sorry for the pun, and any, even the most miserable graphics will seem like candy inside it, in general, I must say - if you like to play games, or feel new - the helmet is the device for you.

From my own experience: imagine that you are in 1998, and let's say a Polish game studio made a demo in which you landed on the moon, got out of the module, saw the iconic American flag, which looks like cardboard, nailed to a stick, stuck in ground, and above the flag in the sky there is an inscription in an extremely poor font "collect the tools, 3 pieces left." At the same time, graphics from very, extremely simple elements, where the monotonously accumulated starry sky and square-repeating ground under your feet occupy 98% of the usable screen area, and somewhere you can see a couple of pixels of those “tools” that you have to find. Actually no. You can already see them, you just need to walk to them for 10 minutes. Just go. By the moon. Soundless. By repeating sprites. No action at all.

Tell me, after how many seconds would you remove this game from a computer or even a smartphone? That's it. And in a helmet, this miracle allows you to experience (!) the devastation and loneliness of the only person on the planet. No kidding. I found myself after 15 minutes of the game desperately afraid that I was alone on the moon, under the cap of the stars, and I didn’t know what to do.

More or less the same story with all other games and applications. They are miserable, they are creepy as hell, but at the same time inside the helmet - they send you back 15-20 years ago, and some before, to the very games that you played, and not for which you spent time. So far, the only question I have for the developers is why is there not a single game with a full-fledged story for this alignment? A single game would have saved the state of affairs simply incredibly, because now, showing people virtual reality on android, there’s nothing special to show, everything with the reservations “this is a demo, you can’t shoot here”, yes, “everything, the whole game is completed, yes, in 4 minutes." By the way, almost all these applications are written in Unity, all the more surprising is their low level, or I don’t know how to search.

But you still don’t listen to me, try it yourself, and tell your version, I’m interested. And season with references, I will be immensely. For example, I even installed a demo with the frantic title of Toilet Simulator. Because.

small easter egg

In fact, on the durovis-dive website there is a link to quake-2, a demo version of the game that is installed on android and has the ability to display mode SBS, at the bottom of this page there is a detailed instruction on how to do it. The only thing that did not work in automatic mode was that a separate archive did not unpack, so there will be links to mirrors in the settings of the running game, you need to retype one of them into the browser on the desktop, download the self-extracting archive, pull out the pak0.pak file from there and put it to the directory of the game installed on the phone, I have it called baseq2.

After that, the same Q2 started up for me without any problems - it works very quickly, and everything is perfectly visible. It became scary literally after 30 seconds, just a chill down the spine, but I won’t describe it further, try it yourself. Unfortunately, it was not possible to take a screenshot, and the joystick works so far only in the "wander" mode, it does not know how to shoot, you have to pick the settings.

Thus, all this sluggishness of android developers (attention android developers!) led me to think - well, there are no games for android - let's try a desktop computer, keeping in mind the main advantages of a virtual helmet - a huge screen with immersion in the image and position tracking heads, and try not to lose them.

Connecting to a computer as a VR device

To be honest, the idea of ​​such a connection appeared immediately, but there was not a single idea how, what and in what order to do. Therefore, while I was drawing, cutting and gluing the parts, I thought along the way where to get information on how to display an image from a computer video card, while simultaneously transmitting head tracking, that is, gyroscope and accelerometer data to a computer. And all this, preferably, with a minimum delay.

And you know, the solution was found. It consists of three stages, each of which we will consider separately, moreover, first I will describe the options that work, and then I will go over those that turned out to be inoperative in my case, but may be useful to you.

We create a 3D output on a computer.

It turned out to be relatively simple, but not knowing right away, you can get lost. So, an ideal computer that allows you to play full-fledged 3D games in stereo output format has a video card based on conventional NVidia or ATI chips, the more modern the better, and, what is very important, the ability to set arbitrary resolution in the drivers. In case you have a laptop (my case) or a video card whose drivers do not support arbitrary resolutions, the image in the helmet will be stretched vertically, and a possible solution, unsafe and rather dreary, is to dig into the registry and set permissions there. Your suggestions, again, are warmly welcome!

In general, you will need to install a version of your graphics card drivers that supports arbitrary resolutions. If your smartphone and your monitor have 1920x1080 pixels on the screen, then everything is very simple - in the video card settings you need to create an arbitrary resolution of 1920x540, and then apply it to the monitor. You will see how the working area of ​​the screen has become smaller in height and is located in the middle of the screen. If the picture on your screen is something like this, then you did everything right:

So, everything was tested on a regular but powerful desktop computer with an NVidia graphics card and the latest drivers. It is important that the conditions are met - when you start the game in stereo mode, the image on each half of the frame is not stretched.

The second thing you need is to download a 3D driver - which has a full trial version for a period of two weeks, and allows you to output 3D images to peripheral devices in arbitrary configurations, and side-by-side, and top-bottom, and anaglyph, in in general, whatever you want.

Install in the usual way, run the TriDef 3D Display Setup utility and select the Side-by-side option, now when you start games from under this driver, they will be in stereo mode “half a frame to each eye”. If you have games installed, then you can open the TriDef 3D Ignition utility and search for installed games, a shortcut to your game will appear in the window - voila, you can use it.

I didn’t have games installed, so I installed Steam and bought Portal 2 for 99 rubles on sale, but this is advertising. And here comes the moment you need to be aware of - a driver that serves stereo output can output stereo for any game that has the ability to run in fullscreen, but cannot create output for a window whose area is smaller than the size of the desktop. Remember this moment, below it will become critical, like a red rag from a bull.

In general, if the drivers are installed and configured, the game is purchased and launched, and it all looks like this on the screen:

You can move on to the next step.

Transferring an image from a computer to a smartphone screen

There are several ways, and judging by the numerous icons in the market, there are not so few programs that allow you to transfer what you need. I was "lucky" before I found a convenient and workable application, I tried several other, depressing and frustrating google play crafts, and I'm sorry that any slag is allowed there. I spent more time searching for and configuring applications than making a device. Moreover, one of the applications had to be bought, and everything would be fine with him if everything was not good. But first things first: you will definitely need a local wi-fi connection between your computer and smartphone.

You will also need a good and fast "remote desktop" that does not log out of your desktop account when you log in via remote. The free Splashtop turned out to be such a program, and the half-paid iDisplay was also found.

The one that is paid - everything is fine with it, only it did not allow the screen cut off from above and below to be placed exactly in the middle of the display, so I had to abandon it, but in general it works well, there was even a review on Habré, where I got it from. But Splashtop worked as it should, so put it on.

All programs of this type work in approximately the same way - you need to download and install the host version for your desktop, and the receiver version for your smartphone. I think there won’t be any problems with this, so I won’t describe these processes, there it’s a five-minute tambourine - downloaded, installed, registered, configured, connected. The only thing I will mention is that you will need to go into the settings and indicate that your wireless connection should be used locally, for which you will need to explicitly specify the IP of your computer in the android version, you can find this address with the ipconfig utility on the command line. Actually, these are all the settings, everything should already work, here, for example, is a screenshot from the smartphone of the current moment:

If you run the game from under the 3D Ignition utility, it will appear on the screen of your smartphone at the same time as it happens on the monitor. Or not. Because here lies the hottest pitfall of our history, and yes, you will laugh as much as I laughed. Watch out for sleight of hand: the driver that returns the stereo image from the game requires a full screen (if you select the “in window” mode, the stereo will not work, the game will start normally), and the desktop access program from your smartphone screams “I can’t run fullscreen, sorry, yes, absolutely”, and can only show the desktop and windows on it.

Therefore, the most delicate moment. Most likely, you will be able to play any games that run in borderless window mode. I don’t know for sure why and where such a mode comes from in games, for this reason, or for some other reason - but it turned out to be a salvation: on the one hand, it deceives the desktop, and tells it that it launched the game in full screen, and on the other hand, it formally gives the smartphone just a window, though without frames and expanded to full screen. The same case when the wolves are full and the sheep are safe.

So I was lucky, the portal-2 that I downloaded from Steam turned out to be exactly the game that supports all three launch modes. So it's up to you to check at your own discretion which games will start this way and which won't.

Already now you can start the game and drive it in a helmet. But, as they say, the picture would be incomplete if there were no head tracking.

Enable head tracking

You have read up to this point, with which I congratulate you. I do not want to deceive you, this point is the most difficult and little studied, nevertheless, do not despair. So.

The first thought was to "disassemble" the Oculus Rift SDK or Durovis Dive SDK, since the source code is in the public domain. Perhaps this should have been done, but I'm not a programmer, and I don't understand anything about it. Therefore, my eyes were turned to ready-made solutions that transmit the position of the smartphone in space to the desktop. As it turned out, there is just a huge number of programs that supposedly can do this. Judging by the descriptions - so do almost everything. And again, I sorted through dozens of programs with sweet promises, but in reality it was even more terrible, disgusting and miserable than sorting through programs for displaying images on a smartphone screen, what’s there, even more miserable than those demo games for durovis dive, which I described above. If at this stage you catch a wave of frustration, then that’s it, “goodbye helmet”. Nevertheless, the necessary (with reservations) program was found. But first, a fly in the ointment - Monect, UControl, Ultimate Mouse, Ultimate Gamepad, Sensor Mouse - all this did not fit. Especially the first one on this list - the description says that Monect Portable provides a mode

FPS mode - Using gyroscope to aim the target just like a real gun in your hand, perfect support COD serial!

But, let's move on to successful options. You will again need to download the host and client version of the program called DroidPad. It was she who, when setting up one of the modes, made it possible to do the necessary, and transmit the parameters of the sensors in real time via wireless access. The algorithm is as follows - install the program on the desktop and on the smartphone, run it on the smartphone, select the "Mouse - Mouse using device tilting" mode, and then launch its desktop version.

If everything is done in this order, the connection should work, and voila - you control the mouse cursor on the computer screen! So far, it's messy and messy, but wait, now we'll set it up. In my case, in the android version of the application, the screenshot of the settings window looks like this:

You can set the name of the device, but it's better not to touch the port - it works by default, but it's better not to touch the working one yet. In the desktop version, everything is a little more complicated, I have the following settings, but they still have to be optimized, so use only as a guide, no more:

Here are the settings for the X and Y axes on the computer screen, and the strength of the sensor from the phone. How exactly it all works for me is still a black box, because the application developers do not provide any documentation, therefore, I provide the information “as is”. I completely forgot to add that I have a program installed on my smartphone that controls the launch of applications in landscape or portrait orientation, and all applications that were tested for this venture = were tested in album mode. The application is called Rotation Manager, and the screen auto-orientation is globally disabled in the smartphone.

Having configured your applications accordingly, you will need to connect your smartphone to the computer according to the algorithm described earlier (for me, any discrepancy with the specified order leads to the application shutting down), and, holding the smartphone in your hand as it will be located inside the helmet, try to configure the settings - Alternately adjusting the desktop sliders and clicking on the "Calibrate" button in the android version window. I will say right away - after a rather short attempt, I managed to adjust the angles and turns relatively decently, but then, adjusting more precisely, I knocked down those settings without thinking to photograph them, and those that are now in the screenshot are already only an approximation to the previous ones that were still feel better. Another point - all these sliders are very sensitive, and holding a smartphone in one position so that it does not arbitrarily remove the cursor is inconvenient, so you constantly have to disconnect and configure, then connect and check. After a while, the information in the article on this subject will be updated, but even with the current settings - inside the game world it looks very impressive.

So what are the feelings? At the moment, for lack of time, I have installed the Portal 2 games and the free HAWKEN robot shooter offered by Steam. As for the portal, you are quickly enslaved by the surrounding atmosphere and sound, and the immersion is so strong that there is nothing to compare with, except that sitting in front of the computer 10 years ago at four in the morning, everything is perceived about as sharply. But if there it was fatigue and darkness around, then in a helmet it is a slightly different, brighter effect of the same presence. But the second game, where you sit in the canonical "huge humanoid robot" - surprised. In the presence of a helmet on the head, the reality projected as if on the surface of the helmet in the game becomes closer, warmer and more lamp-like, and very quickly. Surprisingly fast.

You should not assume that the sensations caused by a VR helmet will be the same for everyone, but for all the “guinea pigs” I can confidently say that absolutely everyone appreciated this device, the reviews are extremely positive and interested. Therefore, I boldly recommend it to you too, spend one day making this helmet, and evaluate it yourself. My personal goal was just that - to quickly satisfy curiosity, without special spending money and time waiting, I spent about three days of searching and setting up everything about everything, and now I pass the baton to you, already in a compressed form.

Personally, I decided that I would most likely make a second version of this helmet, with minor modifications and improvements, and subsequently purchase a fresh consumer version of the Oculus Rift. It turned out to be very interesting and informative.

I really look forward to new applications for android, and partly this article was written with the hope that one of the developers will become interested and give out some kind of interest for the general public to see. And, a small wish - if you know any programs and solutions that I did not mention, but which would increase the quality of the article and improve the performance of the device - write about them in the comments, and I will definitely add valuable information to the article, for future generations.

TL;DR: the article describes a fast and high-quality method of manufacturing a virtual reality helmet based on an HD smartphone or tablet with an android on board, a complete step-by-step instruction and general principles of this process, and also describes the main available ways to use the resulting helmet: watching movies in 3D format, games and applications for android, and connecting the helmet to a computer to immerse yourself in the reality of desktop 3D games.

Virtual reality technology has recently become more and more relevant and in demand. The only problem is that the current cost of devices is at a high enough level, which makes the technology available not to everyone. In this article, we will consider the basic information on how to make virtual reality glasses on our own, using only improvised means.

What you need to understand before creating homemade VR glasses?

Before you develop virtual reality glasses with your own hands, you must definitely familiarize yourself with the principle of their operation. If possible, a factory sample should be tested. It is quite simple to do this - in shopping centers, devices with virtual reality technology begin to appear en masse, providing a number of games for their visitors.

Homemade VR glasses and how do they affect vision?

Having decided to make virtual reality glasses at home, remember that such devices are designed so that after a certain amount of time the user thinks that the virtual world is real for him. Accordingly, the natural principle of vision must be preserved. Although modern developments practically do not affect the quality of vision, after developing your own prototype, we recommend that you do not spend too much time using it. This can be bad for the eyes.

How to make DIY vr glasses

Before you make glasses with your own hands, you must definitely acquire all the necessary tools and materials that will be needed to complete the job. Then you can proceed to the following procedures.
Measuring the diameter of the required lenses. To do this, the smartphone lies on a flat (!) stable surface, and then the user turns on a program to recreate virtual reality on it. The task of the master is to view the screen through the lenses, changing the distance until a perfectly high-quality picture is achieved without blurry outlines and corners. This will allow you to understand what lenses may be required, what should be the focal length, and so on.
At the next stage of creating virtual reality glasses for the phone, the master must personally create a cardboard box that acts as a case. An alternative option would be a scan downloaded from the Internet. It is necessary to ensure that the case does not have such a long bottom as the upper part. Don't forget about the hole for your own nose. Having made a ledge, the smartphone will fully rely on them. Do not forget about the cutouts for the buttons located on the side faces of the smartphone.
To achieve maximum image quality in VR glasses, it is necessary to paint all the insides black. This will help prevent reflections and glare that can negatively affect your viewing experience.

How to make lenses?

Many people wonder about how to make lenses. You won’t be able to create them yourself, but there is one life hack - you can use lenses from old unnecessary flashlights. The main thing is that they are the same. Accordingly, you will have to get two flashlights.
Two holes are created on the cardboard, which are quite a bit short of the diameter of the lenses themselves. In this case, they will be inserted as tightly as possible into cardboard or other types of thick paper. To prevent them from falling out, you should additionally fix the lenses with hot glue. A few drops will be enough.

If you don't know how to make vr glasses, you don't need to look for instructions on how to make them yourself first. You must first familiarize yourself with the list of materials that will be required to create a homemade product. Our virtual glasses will be made from the following materials:

1. Smartphone with Android operating system;
2. Pen;
3. Scissors;
4. Pair of lenses;
5. Ruler;
6. Cardboard box.

Step-by-step instruction

A scoring chart is available on the Internet, which can be found by querying Google Cardboard. If this seems too simple, you can make your own design. In order to use glasses without problems, cardboard sheets must be extremely durable. This is the only way to ensure safe wearing.
Initially, all the details are cut out of a cardboard box. In the figure below you can see the scheme of blanks, through which all parts are prepared:
Before you start cutting blanks for vr glasses, you should make drawings on cardboard. For this, a pen and a ruler are used.
Once the drawings are prepared, you can start cutting them out using scissors. When making an error, you can eliminate it with a glue gun. Once all the details are cut out, it remains only to connect them into a single whole.

hardboard sheet

To make do-it-yourself virtual reality glasses, you need durable material. As practice shows, virtual reality glasses made of cardboard will be a good option. But if the goal is to create a solid structure, you will need corrugated cardboard to make glasses.

Glasses cutout template

Before cutting parts, you need to download drawings with dimensions. Finding them is easy enough on the Internet. You should choose a template for cardboard virtual reality glasses depending on the size of your device, or customize them individually. The main thing is to get a high-quality image in each eye.

Lenses in the amount of 2 pieces

Not without lenses. If you do not have flashlights with you, you should use training lenses for the school. They are also suitable for creating virtual reality glasses. The main thing is to give them the right position and play with the distance in order to eventually get a good resolution.

VR content to check

Having created glasses for a smartphone with your own hands, all that remains is to go to the application market for android and download the programs you like. Make your choice according to your taste.

Conclusion

After learning how to make vr glasses, you will notice that this is a fairly simple procedure. The most difficult thing is designing eyeglass frames, but in the end you will be satisfied with the work done.

Dear readers, thank you for reading or scrolling through the article to the end. Please share the article on social media. networks. We are trying for you. It will give us additional motivation.