From Cardboard to Daydream - The Evolution of VR on Android

From Cardboard to Daydream is about the evolution of VR on Android, a bit of history, the innovations spun by Google's VR efforts and what does your app needs to be a Daydream app. The presentation includes a code walkthrough and even a small app demo.

All About Android (N, TV, VR,..)
GDG-NYC July 2016 Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/gdgnyc/events/230848485/

Transcript

1. From Cardboard to
   DayDream
   The Evolution of VR on Android
   Oscar Salguero
   @OscarSalguero
   

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2. Agenda
   (No Demo) (Code Walkthrough & Demo)
   

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3. Cardboard
   

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4. Cardboard
   ● Created by David Coz and Damien Henry, Google
   engineers at the Google Cultural Institute in Paris, in
   their 20% "Innovation Time Off"
   ● A VR Viewer for your smartphone made of cardboard,
   plastic focal lenses, capacitive tape
   ● Introduced in Google I/O 2014
   ● Cardboard allows us to experience virtual reality in a
   simple, fun, and affordable way
   

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5. Cardboard is Open
   ● Specs for cardboard viewers were
   released to the public and since
   then multiple vendors have
   created an infinity of viewers
   ● All the intel on how to create a
   cardboard app are out there in the
   Internet
   

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6. Cardboard has evolved (1.0 vs 2.0)
   

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7. Cardboard Innovations - JUMP
   ● JUMP: VR Video in 360 degrees
   ● JUMP Assembler: Camera software that
   stitches video from multiple cameras to
   create immersive VR content.
   ● The JUMP camera rig holds 16 GoPro
   cameras.
   ● Youtube + JUMP
   ● GoPro Odyssey: Based on JUMP. Makes
   16 HERO4 cameras act as one,
   frame-level synchronization.
   

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8. Video
   Want more videos?
   Watch my Google VR Playlist!
   

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9. Cardboard Innovations - Expeditions
   ● Tools for teachers to take classes to
   virtual field trips
   ● 1 million students have been taken to
   expeditions in the last year alone
   

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10. Cardboard Innovations - Apps
    Street View
    

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11. Cardboard Innovations - Apps
    Star Wars VR
    

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12. Cardboard Innovations - Apps
    Proton Pulse
    

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13. Cardboard Innovations - Apps
    Roller Coaster VR
    

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14. Cardboard Innovations - Apps
    Beer Box
    

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15. Daydream
    

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17. Daydream-ready
    phones
    

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20. Headset &
    Controller
    

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22. The
    Controller
    

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23. Daydream Apps
    

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24. Daydream Home
    

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25. Play Store
    

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26. App Listing
    

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27. Daydream
    VR App
    

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28. The
    Controller
    

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29. Video
    Want more videos?
    Watch my Google VR Playlist!
    

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30. ● High quality content with narrative
    ● Presence: all your senses lineup to make
    you feel “YOU ARE THERE”, spatial audio
    immersion will help a lot.
    ● Live environment refreshing at 60fps all day
    every day
    Daydream’s Experience
    

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31. Daydream’s Experience
    ● Engage users beyond novelty
    ● Users: Longer and more extensive than the
    apps available for Cardboard... 30+ min
    session while the user is at home.
    ● Let users try your experience
    ● Single purchase to unlock the entire
    experience
    

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32. Daydream’s Experience
    ● Controller: Broad and expressive gesture
    vocabulary, point, inspect, swing or move
    objects, 3rd person character control, flying,
    etc...
    ● Not only for VR, think AR, MR and “beyond
    reality”
    

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33. Daydream Apps
    ● A Daydream app is an app that is completely 3D, there are
    no 2D flows, no navigation bar, soft button bar or status bar
    ● A hybrid app contains both 2D and Daydream
    experiences
    

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34. Submitting DayDream Apps for Review
    8. Stable horizon line
    9. Users initiate movement
    10. Honestly represent content
    11. App uses the Daydream
    Controller
    12. App has a VR Icon
    13. App has a 360 photosphere
    screenshot
    1. App installs and runs (no crashes)
    2. Does the app maintains 60 FPS
    over long periods of time on a
    Daydream-ready phone?
    3. Never go to 2D
    4. App stays in landscape mode
    5. Use immersive full-screen mode
    6. Users can focus on elements
    7. App maintains head tracking
    

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35. What should you create?
    ● Keep in mind that we are pretty early and VR experiences
    are evolving…
    ● Relaxing VS Exciting experiences?
    ● VR Genres? (still being explored and created)
    ● Your imagination is the limit!
    

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36. Dev Kit Setup and Code
    

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37. Setting Up the Dev Kit
    1. A Nexus 5X or 6P (your headset phone)
    2. The latest Android N Preview, Android SDK
    and NDK
    3. A spare phone that will be your controller
    (an old Nexus 5 with KitKat will do)
    4. Download controllerpaint.apk and install it
    on the headset phone
    

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38. Setting Up the Dev Kit
    5. Download controller_emulator.apk and
    install it in the controller phone
    6. Set up some permissions and Bluetooth
    connections (more here)
    7. You are good to go!
    

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39. Code Walkthrough
    The code is on GitHub.
    

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40. Demo (Sorta...)
    This presentation is available at:
    https://goo.gl/X4s4nP
    

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41. Questions?
    This presentation is available at:
    https://goo.gl/X4s4nP
    

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42. Thank You!
    Oscar Salguero
    @OscarSalguero
    

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