Cardboard VR Projects for Android

Build, create, and develop mobile virtual reality apps using the native Google Cardboard SDK for Android

About This Book

• Learn how to build practical applications for Google's popular DIY VR headset
• Build a reusable VR graphics engine on top of the Cardboard Java SDK and OpenGL ES graphics libraries
• The projects in this book will showcase a different aspect of Cardboard development-from 3D rendering to handling user input

Who This Book Is For

The book is for established Android developers with a good knowledge level of Java. No prior OpenGL or graphics knowledge is required. No prior experience with Google Cardboard is expected, but those who are familiar with Cardboard and are looking for projects to expand their knowledge can also benefit from this book.

What You Will Learn

• Build Google Cardboard virtual reality applications
• Explore the ins and outs of the Cardboard SDK Java classes and interfaces, and apply them to practical VR projects
• Employ Android Studio, Android SDK, and the Java language in a straightforward manner
• Discover and use software development and Android best practices for mobile and Cardboard applications, including considerations for memory management and battery life
• Implement user interface techniques for menus and gaze-based selection within VR
• Utilize the science, psychology, mathematics, and technology behind virtual reality, especially those pertinent to mobile Cardboard VR experiences
• Understand Cardboard VR best practices including those promoted by Google Design Lab.

In Detail

Google Cardboard is a low-cost, entry-level media platform through which you can experience virtual reality and virtual 3D environments. Its applications are as broad and varied as mobile smartphone applications themselves. This book will educate you on the best practices and methodology need to build effective, stable, and performant mobile VR applications.

In this book, we begin by defining virtual reality (VR) and how Google Cardboard fits into the larger VR and Android ecosystem. We introduce the underlying scientific and technical principles behind VR, including geometry, optics, rendering, and mobile software architecture. We start with a simple example app that ensures your environment is properly set up to write, build, and run the app. Then we develop a reusable VR graphics engine that you can build upon. And from then on, each chapter is a self-contained project where you will build an example from a different genre of application, including a 360 degree photo viewer, an educational simulation of our solar system, a 3D model viewer, and a music visualizer.

Jonathan Linowes

Jonathan Linowes is the owner of Parkerhill Reality Labs, a start-up VR/AR consultancy firm. He is a VR and 3D graphics enthusiast, full-stack web developer, software engineer, successful entrepreneur, and teacher. He has a fine arts degree from Syracuse University and a master's degree from the MIT Media Lab. He has founded several successful start-ups and held technical leadership positions at major corporations, including Autodesk Inc. He is also the author of the Unity Virtual Reality Projects book by Packt Publishing.

Matt Schoen

Matt Schoen is the cofounder of Defective Studios and has been making VR apps since the early DK1 days. Still in the early stages of his career, he spent most of his time working on Unity apps and games, some for hire and some of his own design. He studied computer engineering at Boston University and graduated with a BS in 2010, at which point he founded Defective with Jono Forbes, a high-school friend. He has been making games and apps ever since. Matt was the technical lead on Defective's debut game, CosmoKnots, and remains involved in Jono's pet project, Archean. This is his first foray into authorship, but he brings with him his experience as an instructor and curriculum designer for Digital Media Academy. Jono and Matt have recently joined Unity's VR Labs division, where they will be helping to create experimental new features which will shape the VR landscape for years to come.