The Econorift

The Oculus Rift is a really cool device. It's also somewhat expensive, clocking in at around $350. The OpenDive 3D project goggles are also nice, but if you don't have a 3D printer it's somewhat costly (around $50). Google Cardboard is even cheaper than this, but the lenses cost about $20 from Amazon.

We need to go cheaper.


Enter the Econorift!

I built it in about 15 minutes with cardboard and other odds and ends. The lenses come from an old pair of toy binoculars. They work decently well, but they don't have the field of view of a real Rift. 

You can see where I cut a thumbhole in the front.

Later that evening, I built a better one out of Erector. The phone slides in on this model and looks a hell of a lot more professional.

The lenses are held in place by friction on this model.

This one worked a lot better, probably because the lens' distance from the phone was a lot more consistent. Neither worked really well, but what can you expect from VR goggles made out of scrap?

These are pretty form-fitted to my phone, so I'm not going to post any kind of detailed instructions. If you want to build one, all you need is some kind of building material and magnifying lenses. Hold the lenses up to the phone to find a distance that works for you, then just build a frame to hold them there. Don't forget a divider between both eye's pictures (somewhat visible above, the white thing suspended from the top). For software, I used a bunch of OpenDive demos from the Play Store, namely OpenDive 3D Demo and Tuscany Dive.

The Econorift: Because cheap isn't free...