Here comes Google’s cardboard, DIY alternative to Oculus Rift

Apparently, you don’t need a hefty black face-mask with rubber straps to access the constructs of virtual reality. All you need is a sheet of cardboard, an Android phone, and a little ingenuity. 

Oh yeah, and you’ll need Google’s new app Cardboard, which, when run on a mobile situated inside a homemade cardboard mask, presents an in-your-face view of Google Earth, Street View, and other VR-ified versions of Google apps, like watching YouTube on a huge screen. The downside is that you are wearing a paper mask on your face. And you thought Google Glass was styleless! 

This has very noble intentions, similar to the aims of groups who build cardboard computers to spread computer literacy. Virtual reality is a potentially important tech that with potentially huge accessibility issues. Cheap, ready-to-use VR equipment could lead to a swelling of grassroots creativity in the space. 

You can find a template for constructing your own paper headset here.