Virtual Reality with Google

Hello, GT! VR-topic firmly settled in the trends of this decade, and we can not simply stand aside. Today, almost every one of you have a ready set of "stuffing" For VR device in the smartphone: high-resolution display with a diagonal of 5.6 inches, a set of gyroscopes and accelerometers to record the movements of the head. It remains to put it all in a helmet. In this we are ready to help you!



The program Google Cardboard, allows anyone to collect the VR-helmet from your smartphone, and картонной workpiece , recently received a major upgrade, and by the end of the year to recruit a sufficient number and content, and interesting projects related to the development of VR-direction. Today we will talk about them.


Support for the Russian language
Firstly, we are pleased to inform you that the site is dedicated to Google Cardboard, has got the support of the Russian language! Specifications of Cardboard, documentation for developing applications in a special section of Google Developers now available in our language with you.



We will continue to work on the localization of available materials, but in the meantime let's move on to more interesting news.

Global Update Google Cardboard
From mid-October Google Cardboard app is available in 39 languages ​​and more than 100 countries on devices running Android and iOS . Today, a variety of applications with support for Cardboard been downloaded from Google Play more than 15 million times, making our VR-platform truly affordable and widespread. Looking forward, more and more people become interested in the available virtual reality.

Certified accessories
Affordable and simple design Google Cardboard excellent for mass production and self-assembly, but if the simplicity of the original "gadget" you prefer devices with improved ergonomics and premium materials - pay attention to the Certified options , fully compatible with the software Google Cardboard.



Fans of high-tech design can enjoy Zeiss VR One GX or View-Master from Mattel, which can be ordered online with delivery worldwide. In general, the site currently has a Google Cardboard many models are fully compatible with the existing VR applications . Everyone can choose device, which will have his taste.

Updates Cardboard SDK
We have not only expanded the range of supported iron, but also seriously worked on the software. The new SDK for Cardboard and Unity are designed to deal with two issues on which the developers have asked us to focus on: a correction of the drift of the accelerometers and the performance of the engine Unity.

We are deeply rethink the algorithm of positioning, they now rely on the united information from gyroscopes and accelerometers, enabling greatly reduce "drift" camera, especially on a budget smartphone with inexpensive and not very accurate sensors.



In the work with Unity we managed to get rid of the cumbersome plug-ins and to integrate native support for methods of image distortion. With this Cardboard-based applications Unity are now able to work with Metal-rendering in iOS and multithreaded rendering in Android, which significantly increases performance and reduces the load on the CPU of your smartphone.

Cardboard everywhere
To demonstrate the new features Google Cardboard, we have updated the app Google Street View for Android and iOS . Now you can walk through the most different corners of our world and see everything with my own eyes, without leaving the couch. But that's not all! Simplicity and accessibility (caused including inexpensive materials) Google Cardboard allowed massively to use our VR-system in a normal school.

Google Expeditions
The experiment began with one school in the Bronx. Regular lessons of ancient history turned into a fascinating journey through Google Cardboard. Dozens of students were able to not only see the color illustrations in their books, but just go on top of the complex Чичен-Ица and get acquainted with the works of art of the greatest city of the Aztec civilization Теночтитлана. These interactive lessons much more addicting and interested students than boring Looking at the pictures in the book.



In the future, we plan to give thousands of schools around the world to conduct similar activities for their students. The distributed education kits include Google Cardboard, smartphones ASUS, a tablet with a special software for the teacher (he allows virtual tours), as well as special routers that can provide excursions without broadband Internet access.

Of course, such a virtual tour can not substitute for a real journey, but it is not always possible to arrange a tour for the students in his hometown, not to mention other countries. Now the program works in the United States, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand and the UK.

Today teachers available "library" of more than one hundred virtual travel, including the Great Barrier Reef to the Great Wall of China and even to Mars. At the same time, we continue to develop new "routes" in cooperation with our partners in education and VR-content. If the streets of cities in countries where the program appears here is a car - it means that soon the children all over the world will be able to "walk" and in their streets.



We hope that these innovations will help VR-systems to gain an even greater base interesting and not just entertainment content , which in turn will spur manufacturers to actively develop the hardware component of VR-systems. Присоединяйтесь!

Youtube - now in 3D!
For 10 years with YouTube, we all realized that to shoot a video and share it with your friends - it's a great way to tell about your life! And no matter what you're shooting: исландский Glacier , выступление famous violinist Tim Fane birthday or just a friend.

Now imagine that the regime of virtual reality, we can actually become a party to all of these videos! To this end, we have launched two new features 3D video for YouTube application on Android. All that you need - this is your smartphone, and Google Cardboard , or any other compatible "points" for view the video in a virtual reality.

Now you can watch 3D-videos - videos where you find yourself in the heart of the action. Using the features of that help people navigate the real world, the video in virtual reality allows us to feel the depth of the image in any direction. Close objects look really close and distant - distant. And if you like panoramic video , something from this feature, you will be thrilled. This is a very cool thing!

Already you want to try? Simply find the video in virtual reality on YouTube, for example голодные Game or видео about traveling to Peru with Toms Shoes .

To see this video, click the icon Cardboard, insert your smartphone in glasses - and forward, into the unknown worlds! If you videobloger you can yourself to do something like that with our new technologies for shooting 3D-video. Special project Jump lets you take panoramic video, without using a complicated software and long post-treatment. < br /> < br />

List adapted for VR movies can be found здесь.

As a nice bonus, we have added the ability to look through Cardboard absolutely any video available in the universe of YouTube. Imagine that all your favorite videos now have in your own virtual movie theater. Select the menu item Cardboard, reinsert the smartphone in glasses and voila! Here is the largest library of virtual reality movies!




Ever wanted to be "inside" the exciting video? With our new features it can be done really. All you have to do - обновить Application YouTube . Fasten belts! The key to "start»!

How to start using Cardboard?
If you already have a "carton" (or soon to be), but you do not know where to start - this is a mini-guide that will help you get in the virtual world in minutes.

The first thing you need - application Google Cardboard , available for download on Google Play.





Setup Wizard will guide you through a simple guide (the easiest way - to give it to scan QR-code on the body of your Cardboard'a), then you can test the VR-system on the main menu. All management is done by turning the head and the "click" of the control magnet. All you are ready to conquer the virtual space! Find new applications for Cardboard can be directly from the menu, or by visiting a special страницу Play Store.

That's all, you productive Friday and see the vast VR!

Source: geektimes.ru/company/google/blog/267936/

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