Such a Wide World

I am sure that I have mentioned before in one of my longer posts how wide a world the world of computer science is. Now, I am getting a first-hand look at just how wide it is. I researched the different virtual reality solutions on the consumer and developer markets this weekend, because actually getting my hands on a device would be essential to developing real VR and AR applications. In the end, I ordered a Google Cardboard, a "device" that is intended to work with any appropriately-sized Android smartphone. Essentially, as its name implies, it is a cardboard frame that contains a slot for an Android and some Velcro to hold it shut, an NFC (Near-Field Communications) chip to tell the phone when it is placed inside the Cardboard, a ring magnet to act as input when the touchscreen is inaccessible, and, most importantly, a pair of simple glass lenses. Paired with the Google Cardboard Android app, a Cardboard allows the user to watch YouTube, explore Google Earth and Google Maps Street View, and enjoy a host of small miscellaneous demos in immersive VR. Best of all, Google Cardboard only $20-35 on Amazon, while most more dedicated VR devices, like Oculus Rift, Sony's Project Morpheus (not even released to outside developers yet), and the Durovis Dive (which works on the same principle as Google Cardboard, but is made with higher-quality materials) range anywhere from $150 to $500. Later on in my project, I may upgrade to one of these more professional options, but for now I am entertaining high hopes for my budget solution.

Lastly, applications for Google Cardboard (much like Android applications) are developed primarily in Java, a programming language with which I am already familiar, and the Java-based SDK used to develop for Cardboard is publicly available. I suddenly find myself needing to finish learning how to develop Android applications, and that is what I worked on today.