The move will allow developers to continue building experiences for the low-cost phone-based VR project.
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| © Provided by CBS Interactive Inc. Google is open-sourcing the software behind its Cardboard VR experience. CNET |
Google said Wednesday that it will open-source the software for Cardboard
, the company's low-cost phone-based VR experience. The move comes less
than a month after Google said it would discontinue its Daydream VR
program.
The move will let developers continue to build virtual reality
experiences and add Cardboard support for iOS and Android apps. The
project's tools provide APIs for head tracking, lens distortion
rendering and input handling, as well as an Android QR code library so
developers aren't dependent on the Cardboard app for viewer pairing.
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| © CNET Google is open-sourcing the software behind its Cardboard VR experience. |
"We think that an open source model -- with additional contributions
from us -- is the best way for developers to continue to build
experiences for Cardboard," Jeffrey Chen, product manager for AR and VR,
said in a blog post.
Google's
move to open-source the project comes as the company has essentially
thrown in the towel on smartphone-powered VR headsets. The idea was to
let people take high-end phones like its Pixel line and pop them into relatively cheap headsets.
The
phone screens would then be so close to people's eyes that they'd trick
these people's brains into believing they were in the
computer-generated world.
The Cardboard headset, built with low-cost lenses and folded cardboard, made it a popular marketing tool
and part of corporate goodie bags. But the Daydream VR program didn't
catch on with consumers, and Google said in October it would discontinue it.
Google
has said it plans to focus efforts on emerging augmented reality
technology, which overlays computer images on the real world.
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