How I made a VR headset just from what I have. This might be the most information page out of all the pages this website has.
Introduction
Welcome! I have a lot of things to share with you on this page. I will not say that you can make them for free since everything still costs some. Have you ever thought about owning a VR headset and playing VR games but you have little to no money(like me)? Well, I was thinking about buying a Quest 2 but of course, they aren't cheap(for me), plus there is no shop that I can trust to order from them but receive craps. Then something came into my mind, VR can do head tracking by using an accelerometer and gyroscope, and those sensors are available on my phone! Why the hell not turn my phone into a VR headset?? It sound simple but after a lot of trial and error, I finally did it, a simple cardboard VR headset. Let's dive into how I did it by using the links below to start navigating.
Alternative: You can take pre made lenses from toys or buy them to save your time.
II. Technical Setup
Alright, here is what you need to do to setting thing up:
Install VRidge on phone:
VRidge support for both Android and IOS, it's as simple as you go to the store and install like a normal app... do I need to provide intruction for this?
Install VRidge on PC:
This will get a bit more complicated. Well, the easiest way is go into Steam and get VRidge Demo. Make sure you know that they works first before spending money on the full version. Also the Demo version only last 10 minutes per section, so you would have to stop play then play constantly, full version would fix this.
Connect Everything:
Make sure both of your phone and PC are on the same network(Local network), I suggest use 5G Wi-Fi for best quality.
Launch VRidge on both devices and wait for VRidge on PC to scan and detect your phone. When it does detected, it will appear a tab, choose yes when you see your phone's model.
After connected successfully, your phone should say "Connected! Waiting for SteamVR"
Controlling:
Keyboard: Before start playing, go to the "Configuration" tab and turn on Mouse + Keyboard, then you can be able to use keyboard and mouse to control hands in VR. It's pretty hard to control so, it would take time to learn. Well... you get what you pay for, right?
Use another Android phone as controller: If you have an Android phone, you could use that as controller like the real one! You just need to download the VRidge Controller app, which is also required to pay for them. If you installed, open them up while it also connect to the same network and the phone will able to scan your PC(if VRidge on PC already turn on). Choose it and voila! You have a controller... for a hand, you can use two Android phone for both hands if you want.
III. Challenges
This DIY VR headset project isn't exactly effortless. Here is a list of the toughtest parts and how to handle them:
LENS:
The hardest part propably the lenses. You need to focus image from your phone's display to your eyes, which is a bit hard to adjust when you have everything rigid and glued in place.
Hot glue and plastic:
If you are using hot glue like me, be careful! Too much heat will warp the plastic and ruin the lens. My trick is let the heat gun at max then unplug it and let it cool slightly before applying. I trashed more lenses than I’d like to admit due to warping, scratches, or weird marks. Don’t hesitate to redo a lens if it’s imperfect, it’ll affect the final image quality. You don’t need crystal clear perfection, but fewer scratches mean a better view.
Water Bubble:
Even if you are super careful, you will probably still get bubbles in those water lenses. Tiny ones usually aren’t an issue unless they’re smack in the center. If that happens, try gently tapping the side of the lens to float the bubbles to the top(Just don't do it too hard, learned the hard way).
Performance:
With good lenses, you could theoretically get decent quality. But this is real life, so the results depend on:
Your phone's specs and Lens to phone distance
My iPhone X runs at 2K resolution and 60 FPS, which works okay. If your phone can handle 4K or 90+ FPS, even better. But higher resolution and refresh rates introduce another challenge: connection quality. A weak connection turns your VR dream into a stop-motion nightmare with a VHS filter.
Connection Tips:
I recommend using HEVC(High Efficiency Video Coding) to reduce bandwidth usage and improve quality, if your PC can handle encoding it and your phone can decode it smoothly. But if your GPU struggles or your network is flaky, expect some... interesting frame drops.
Heat:
Phones get hot like, really hot. My iPhone heats up and suddenly drops to 10 FPS. It’s an iPhone, what did I expect?
IIII. Is it worth it?
I’m not here to kill your vibe. This project is challenging, no doubt. But is it worth it? That depends:
Have the budget for a real VR headset? Go for that instead. This won’t be worth your time. Seriously, I spend almost 4 days to complete my own, it also depend on the creative of who did it.
On a tight budget or just looking to learn something new? Absolutely worth it. Phones weren’t designed for VR, but they have the hardware to pull it off.
In the end, it’s about the experience and what you gain from building it. Dive in, troubleshoot, and maybe learn a thing or two along the way. And that's my journey on making a DIY VR headset, it's around midnight when I writing this so there would be some thing that a bit nonsense, I will add contact into the connect page soon so you can notice me and thank you for reading! Have a good day!