Got one of Google’s Cardboard VR headsets and an Android phone handy?
Google has something new for you to play with this morning.
Dubbed “Cardboard Camera“, the idea is pretty straightforward: it lets you create and peruse 360° panoramic photos in virtual reality.
Cardboard Camera pulls off a bit of trickery to simulate depth within your photos (making near things look near, and far things look far), and then sends slightly different photos to each eye — thereby simulating the appearance of a 3D environment.
It’s not actually 3D, of course — you won’t be able to move around within it. But it’s quite a bit cooler than a flat, static image. Add in Cardboard Camera’s ability to attach sound from the environment to each VR Photo, and it actually starts to feel pretty darn immersive.
If you’ve got the aforementioned required hardware, you can find Cardboard Camera right over here for free in the Google Play store.