Google 2016 Update: Search Giant Unveils Daydream, The VR For Android [VIDEO]
Google seems to be going full steam ahead in entering the virtual reality market, as the tech giant unveiled its massive plan to bring VR to mainstream consumers on Thursday. The technology, dubbed Daydream, is basically a platform for high-quality mobile virtual reality.
Daydream, at least for now, is specifically designed to bring high-end VR experiences to Android devices. However, Google has also announced that the utilization of the technology would spill over a variety of devices in the near future as well.
Though no specific date was announced for the release of Daydream, Google did state that the technology would be released sometime this fall. Of course, with virtual reality in mind, Daydream would require the use of controllers and a VR headset as well. With regards to the project's accessories, Nathan Martz, Google's Daydream product manager, announced that the hardware is already being designed.
"With Daydream, we've also created a reference design for a comfortable headset and an intuitive controller. And, yes we're building one, too. The headset and controller work in tandem to provide rich, immersive experiences," he said.
Daydream's approach to the world of VR is quite different to what most virtual reality developers have utilized in the past. Indeed, apart from the Samsung Gear VR that was designed by Oculus, most VR headsets today could only be used using high-end computers that require quite a lot of investment to set up. But then, even Samsung's Gear VR only works with the firm's latest devices.
By utilizing the massive number of Android devices in the wild today, Daydream would have the potential to bring VR closer to the consumer market than ever before. In fact, according to John Riccitiello, CEO of San Francisco-based Unity Technologies, mobile VR has the capability of being an ideal platform not just for games, but for enterprises and the educational sector as well.
"I don't think VR is going to be about games and simple shopping apps. You blink and you're in the Taj Mahal. You blink again and you're at 10,000 feet and soaring on the wing tips of a plane. Blink again and you're in a classroom taking a physics class from your favorite professor at Cal Tech or you're talking with your best friend 1,000 miles away but it's like you're sitting on the couch together," he said.
With Daydream, the world just got a little bit closer to a VR-saturated future.
