Before you can start with assembling your own cardboard VR headset you will need to purchase and collect some specific items. I ordered most of the “ingredients” online on websites like Ebay. If you are lucky enough you can find some of the items in a (specialised) hardware store. I would recommend you to collect all items on beforehand, because it is much more fun to assemble the headset in one go.
- Cardboard
Of course the most important ingredient of the headset is the cardboard. You can probably buy this in a local hobby shop, but it is cheaper, environmental friendlier, ánd more fun to collect it from waste-paper bins. I collected some very nice pieces of cardboard from the waste-paper bins at my university’s faculty of Architecture. The minimum size of the cardboard should be somewhere around 62 x 25 cm (that’s 24½ x 10¼ inches). Make sure there are no folds in the cardboard. Google advises to use cardboard with a thickness of 1.5 mm (0.06 inches). I think mine was slightly thicker. This only meant that I had to adjust some of the cuts and holes when folding the headset.
- The lenses
Perhaps the hardest part is to find the right type of lenses. These lenses are so-called “biconvex lenses” and have a focal distance of 45 mm. They should have a diameter of around 25 mm. I bought these: http://tinyurl.com/p4t8pa9 (note: 1 piece contains a set, so 2 lenses!).
- Two types of magnets
You will need two different types of magnets for the switch used for controlling the headset. One of them is a “ferrite disk magnet”, the other one is a “neodymium ring magnet”. Both should have a diameter of around 20 mm (¾ inches). Thickness may vary between 3-5 mm (⅛ to ⅕ inches). Unfortunately you cannot just buy one magnet of each. Instead, they are mostly being sold in bulks of 5 or 10 pieces. I bought these: http://tinyurl.com/nm9bzha and these: https://tinyurl.com/y58ls5p9
- Velcro strips
The Velcro is used for opening and closing the back of the headset, where you put your phone. Use adhesive-backed Velcro with a width of approximately 20 mm (¾ inches). Something like this: http://tinyurl.com/ltmmnpw (select 1 meter and “hook & loop”). For the Dutch people, I bought this at the local Hema store: http://tinyurl.com/l2ucnvnOptional: Velcro headband. If you don’t want to hold the headset while using it you might want to create a Velcro headband.
Tip: use a bit of super glue to glue the Velcro to the cardboard. Although it is adhesive-backed, the Velcro tends to come off under pressure. And you really don’t want your phone to fall down and crash onto the floor…
- NFC-tag (optional)
You can stick an NFC-tag onto the headset if you want to automatically start the Google Cardboard app once you put your phone into the headset. These stickers will work with our OPOs: http://tinyurl.com/o2jum67 (sold in batches of 5 or 10 tags).
Once you have collected all of the items you are ready to move on to the next step: cutting and assembling, yeah! 