Google Cardboard

Welcome to our 506 Research Project Site about Google Cardboard!

As you see in the photo above snapped by Google Developers themselves, Google Cardboard is something to smile about.  It is a unique device that combines a low price point with access to virtual reality and has the potential to transform the photo viewing experience.

Over the past semester, we have thoroughly researched this innovative product and explored the statistics, predictions and possible uses surrounding its progress in the technological world.  We have created this site as a culmination of our increased knowledge and awareness of Google Cardboard and hope that it will offer you the same educational opportunity it gave to us.

All of us came to Georgetown to explore the digital world and more deeply understand the purpose of communication in a rapidly advancing world.  We feel that this project gave us the chance to do just that.

Objective

The essential purpose of our research is to unpack the architecture, algorithm and usability of Google Cardboard.  Google Cardboard is a virtual reality viewer released by Google to provide the public with an inexpensive VR experience as well as to encourage public interests in VR technology.  To be specific, we are interested in exploring the technical components, the processes it uses to convert input to output and the reason why individuals and groups use it.

With a better understanding of Google Cardboard, we expect to evaluate the dynamic of this new technology in both a comprehensive and critical way.  Some of the questions we anticipate answering in our research include:

• What’s the problematic nature of Google Cardboard’s self-proclaimed cost-effectiveness?
• What’s the implication of new uses for obsolete technology?
• How can Google arouse the public’s interest in this emerging technology?
• How can Google Cardboard, as an accessible VR platform, evolve?

Overview

Here is a brief overview of our website for easy navigation:

• About: Learn about our website design and more about us as a team.
• Architecture:  Explore the physical structure and basic material outline of Google Cardboard.
• Algorithm:  Understand the internal and external mechanisms that allow Google Cardboard to function properly.
• Usability:  Who uses Google Cardboard and why?  Find out with this descriptive and illustrated user profile page.
• Socio-Technical Analysis: Gain a better perception of how Google Cardboard affects the technological world that created it and what its potential is as a device.
• Poster: After learning more about Google Cardboard, view our poster presentation tool for a concise and clean explanation of Google Cardboard’s most prominent features.
• Expert Interview:  Hear firsthand as a Georgetown Professor gives his view of Google Cardboard and its future.
• Bibliography:  Peruse the research sources we chose and annotated in our pursuit of a deep and meaningful understanding of Google Cardboard.

Best,

Han, Jiaxi, Lynn and Supriya