Virtual Reality

The term "Virtual Reality"(Shortly called as VR) was first coined by an American computer scientist Jaron Lanier who founded VRL Research Inc in the 1980s to sell the first VR Goggles. Virtual Reality is an artificial environment that is created with software which creates a sensory experience of virtual presence in the simulated world. At present many industries started using VR as part of their applications. The VR was just fiction till the last decade, but today it becomes possible and affordable to everyone with the evolution and integration of the following technologies.

1. 360° Camera

We need a special camera which can capture 360° or at-least 190° since we have a maximum of 190° horizontal Field of View(FOV) by both of our two eyes, we have approximately 120° FOV for binocular vision(seen by both eyes together) and 135° FOV for vertical range of the visual fields. There are many 360° cameras available on the market and it does not require much technical knowledge to use this camera. The following are some popular 360° cameras currently available in the online market

1. Insta360 ONE X(recommended)/Insta360 EVO
2. GoPro Fusion
3. Ricoh Theta V
4. Vuze XR
5. Garmin Virb 360

Apart from the above expensive cameras, there are few apps(such as Google Street View and Cardboard Camera) available in both Andriod and iOS which will help us to capture 360° photos.
I have used Insta360 ONE X to capture my 360° Videos and Photos

2. Smartphone

A display device which can play video as binocular mode(side by side) and it should be placed 2" closer to our eyes, which means the device should not be more than 6.5" of screen size. Smart Phones with gyroscope sensor has the capability of tracking our head movement and play the video according. Moreover, the smartphone should have the VR media player to play the 360° video in Binocular mode.

3. VR Headset

If smartphones are 2" close to our eyes, we can't enjoy the VR experience, for that we need VR Headsets to see the video played by smartphones with the help of magnifying lenses to see the wide-angle. There are plenty of VR headsets are available in the market, Moreover Google has published the standard procedure to create our own(DIY) VR headsets in the name of Google Cardboard. The wide-angles of the VR headsets(maximum angle ability to experience the VR) are measured in FOV. The following are some popular VR headsets available in the online market

1. Cool BUDDYZZ Vr Box 3D Virtual Reality Vr Glasses
2. Ocular Grand Fully Adjustable VR Headset With Inbuilt Headphones & 42MM PMMA Lenses (White)

As already stated the evolution and integration of 360° camera, Smartphones with gyroscope and VR Headset made VR experience possible today. But in the Telugu (Indian Language) film "9 Nelalu" released in 2001, a scene is about VR in which it will describe how the VR experience is like.
In this particular scene, the hero returned home very late on his wedding day so that he cannot take his wife to the temple. But he will take his wife to the temple via VR, wearing a VR headset.

Find the link for the particular scene

DIY Simplified Google Cardboards Required Material:

1. Cardboard
2. Chart
3. Scale
4. Pen/Pencil
5. Staplers/Glue
6. Pair of the lens with 45mm focal length and 37mm diameter

Note: The 25mm diameter lenses were used in Google cardboard v1.0 but Google cardboard v2 uses 37mm diameter lenses. The diameter and the focal length of the lens matters, so be conscious while buying the lens.
I am using BAIRN ART 37mm Google Cardboard VR Lenses (Pack of 2) for this Google Cardboard
Let's note the following parameters and measurements for 6.3" Screen smart phones

1. Screen to lens distance: 45mm (same as focal length)
2. Inter lens diameter: 70mm
3. The thickness of the phone: 10mm
4. Phone Dimensions: 150mm x 73mm
5. Display Dimension: 140mm x 70mm

Now we are ready to draw the following diagram on the chart with the measurement as given below.

Where

1. The dimension of the side part is 80mm x 80mm as the phone size is 73mm, So derived the height of the side part as 80mm*80mm
2. The length of the top and bottom part of the cardboard should be 145mm as the phone dimension is 150mm x 73mm and screen dimension is 140mm x 70mm, so we derived the length of as 145mm (in between of 140mm and 150mm) and width as 80mm as same side part
3. Normal human face width is around 100mm so the curve length should be 125mm
4. The distance between pupils is 60mm so the inter lenses diameter as 70mm and lens center point should be at the middle of the cardboard.
5. Since the phone thickness is 10mm, we have given 15mm space for that

Draw the above diagram on the chart first to create the design template and cut the cardboard with the help of a template. Something like below but as per your phone measurement.

Once the cardboard is cut, fold the card as VR headset and glue it with glue or stapler, and place the lens card 45 mm away from the phone.

Now our simplified Google Cardboard(VR headset) is ready. Now we can darshan Athi Varadar via our Google Cardboard prepared and Google Cardboard app installed on our smartphone.