Build your own 3D Headset for pennies (part2)
In part one I showed how a stereo slide viewer could be used to allow viewing of stereoscopic images using a cell phone display. In this article I will discuss building the actual headset.
Disclaimer: If you drop and break your phone it's not my problem.
My original idea was to velcro the viewer to the phone and then suspend this from the brim of a baseball hat. However at some point I stumbled across a youtube video for a product called the Optivisor. This is a head mounted stereo magnifier used by jewelers etc when working with small objects.
I checked local suppliers and found that Jameco had something that would probably work for the amazing price of $7. I bought 3 of them because I expected to have some wastage but the project was actually remarkably easy.
Disclaimer: If you drop and break your phone it's not my problem.
My original idea was to velcro the viewer to the phone and then suspend this from the brim of a baseball hat. However at some point I stumbled across a youtube video for a product called the Optivisor. This is a head mounted stereo magnifier used by jewelers etc when working with small objects.
I checked local suppliers and found that Jameco had something that would probably work for the amazing price of $7. I bought 3 of them because I expected to have some wastage but the project was actually remarkably easy.
VISOR MAGNIFIER WITH LIGHT
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Multi-Format Viewer for Stereo Slides
On the left we see the headset and on the right the viewer.
I removed the lens and the flashlight components which simply unscrew from the headset and then trimmed down the visor until the slide viewer fitted in the hole left by the lens. This took a bit of work with a dremel but not more than half an hour. I have to say that considering the headset cost $7, the quality was amazing. The plastic is strong and easy to work with and the screw based construction made disassembly easily. |
Mounting the phone
In order to firmly mount the phone to the front of the device, I cut 2 brackets from aluminium and attached these with small machine screws. The phone rests on these brackets and then a cloth (gaffer tape) band is used to hold the phone in position. The phone is in a silicone rubber casing which the alloy brackets grip firmly. When making the brackets try to ensure that you can still access the USB and audio out ports on the phone. The phone can easily be inserted and removed from the headset which is very key during development.
Final Assembly and Testing
Once I had the brackets figured out, I glued the slide viewer to the headset with thick super glue and attached the brackets using machine screws.
Once the phone is mounted like this, the touch screen is not available so I purchased a bluetooth controller from Nyko. This pairs easily with the phone.
You can get sample code showing how to code for controllers from Nvidia.
I wrote a simple test program using Java and OpenGL ES20. Setting up stereo cameras is quite straightforward. This is a great resource.
Unfortunately I was unable to get head tracking working for a stupid reason. My phone has become magnetized, so the magnetometer sensor data is wrong. Because of this I need to build a degaussing coil before I can proceed with testing the sensors.
Once the phone is mounted like this, the touch screen is not available so I purchased a bluetooth controller from Nyko. This pairs easily with the phone.
You can get sample code showing how to code for controllers from Nvidia.
I wrote a simple test program using Java and OpenGL ES20. Setting up stereo cameras is quite straightforward. This is a great resource.
Unfortunately I was unable to get head tracking working for a stupid reason. My phone has become magnetized, so the magnetometer sensor data is wrong. Because of this I need to build a degaussing coil before I can proceed with testing the sensors.
Update September 2014
Fast forward 18 months and I have a new phone and Google Cardboard has invigorated the hobbyist end of the VR market. My droid maxx has a much more powerful GPU and a higher resolution display and now there are quite a few VR apps available.
I had a lot of fun playing SpaceTerrorVR with my rig. Headphones make a huge difference to the immersion level. Its quite strange to play games standing up.
I also recently picked up a Dodocase VR kit which is essentially the components for a Cardboard made into a really nice kit. Can't say enough nice things about this, the card was well cut and it comes with lenses and an NFC chip.
I had a lot of fun playing SpaceTerrorVR with my rig. Headphones make a huge difference to the immersion level. Its quite strange to play games standing up.
I also recently picked up a Dodocase VR kit which is essentially the components for a Cardboard made into a really nice kit. Can't say enough nice things about this, the card was well cut and it comes with lenses and an NFC chip.