Did you rememeber when Google annouced a "VR headset made out of cardboard" during Google IO?
Did you ever ask yourself WAIT, BUT WHY?
Let me share how it started. Here's a story that started over 10 years ago. 👇
Back then, I was the Co-founder & CTO of AudioGaming, doing audio synthesis and trying to make a living in the audio industry.
Spoiler: it wasn’t easy.
It's sad to say, but even though audio conveys most of the emotion, it only gets about 10% of a project's budget.
While generating audio in realtime offers tons of creative possibility, we discovered it’s tough to make money unless you're in music or podcasts.
Fun fact: our tools were used for the wind sounds in "Django Unchained"!
So, I bought an Oculus Rift, at first to see if there was an application for 360 audio.
While playing with it, I realized it was just 2 lenses in front of a screen.
That was my Eureka Moment. 💡
So, I held two lenses with my hands in front of my phone and saw a stereoscopic effect.
Simple, but it worked!
Obviously, holding a phone and 2 lenses simultaneously is not very convenient!
That's how I started putting together a rough prototype using cardboard.
It wasn’t pretty, but it held the lenses in place and worked surprisingly well.
Every test brought new surprises: "Wow, this actually works!".
So I decided to share my findings with David Coz @dav_cz, a Google engineer, over demos in the company canteen.
After showing an Oculus demo, I immediately followed up with my "2 lenses in front of a phone" trick.
I wanted to develop this idea and asked if he'd handle the software. He saw the potential right away and jumped on board.
Together, we blended hardware and software to push this idea forward.
Our vision was to make 3D plan so that everyone can 3D print an headset.
But cardboard prototypes allowed us to iterate quickly.
We blocked external light, improved durability, and made the VR experience more immersive with each version.
But then there was this second Eureka moment. 💡
This headset was just perfect 🤩
Because its USP was huge:
💰 Affordable: starting at just a few euros, it makes VR accessible to everyone without breaking the bank.
✅ Easy to use: Just pop your smartphone in and you're good to go—no complicated setup required.
🎨 Customizable: Brands can print their logos and designs, creating a memorable marketing tool.
🤝 Shareable: No straps, so you can quickly pass it around for easy, mess-free VR experiences.
But most importantly a VR headset in cardboard is a good story.
It made people curious.
It underpromized and over delivered.
The perfect combo for virality.
With access to Google’s laser-cutting tools, our little side project quickly became an official Google project.
In June 2014, we presented Google Cardboard at Google I/O. We made it open-source, and it had an immediate impact.
Brands jumped on the Cardboard train to offer unique and impactful immersive experiences.
25 million Cardboard app downloads later, the hype just kept growing.
The @nytimes saw the potential and distributed 1 million Cardboards to subscribers for a VR documentary on refugees. It took the print experience to a whole new level.
Companies like @Lexus got creative, offering immersive VR experiences with their packaging. It was a brilliant way to merge product marketing with cutting-edge tech.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSdxHy8z8zo
@CocaCola also jumped on board, using their packaging to provide ready-to-use VR viewers. They turned everyday products into immersive experiences.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eamKy74n-vM
I was impacted so much by this project.
After leaving my startup, I spent 6-7 years at Google, flying back and forth to California, working in their offices, and visiting the Cardboard factory.
During that time, I also put together an awesome AI and imaging team.
Mentioning Ads, the cardboard wins a Lions awards at cannes. It also wins a pretigious design price: the red dot awards
Honestly, there's a clear "before and after" in my career because of Google Cardboard.
But the bigger picture is its massive global impact:
👉 it created jobs, spawned between 10 and 100 companies, and almost every ad agency pitched projects based on Cardboard.
BTW I didn't mention what happened between the prototype and Google IO.
It was intense and fun, full of good memories, and great people. I may share this one day!