Finished Product

Since last post, I have finished the modeling of my VR headset. I am extremely excited about how it came out, although like everything, there is room for improvement.

Here are some screen caps I grabbed so you can have an idea of what it looks like. The holes on the side pieces is where you thread elastic band to make sure it stays secure on the head.




As you can see in the next three photos, the top and side pieces are removable. The top slides off by way of the dove tail joint while the sides are held on by pins so it can pivot to get a better fit on the head.





Here is a close up of how the cap/phone holder stays shut. You attach some sort of elastic material through the hole on the inner piece that gets latched around the front cap piece.


Once the latch is undone, you can flip down the cover and have access to where the phone goes. The cover pivots on the two pins located at the bottom. The cover can be taken off by removing those pins.




You can see in the photo above and the photo below, there is a place to coil up the excess headphone cord.



As stated above, the sides and top part are removable. The reason this so is for many reasons. The first ease of printing. By breaking it up, the prints are smaller and shorter lessening the negative implications if a print fails. But the other big reason is to make it modular. Making it modular give you the opportunity to have customization. In my initial design, I stated that one use that I would like to design for is the ability to have this used by both adults and children. This proposed the problem of how it would fit both large and small heads. in the photo below, you will see that I have modeled smaller versions of both the side pieces and the top piece. This allows the person making it to select which pieces he would like to print based on who the intended user would be.


Overall I am extremely pleased with the outcome. I have yet to take pictures of the final product, but it is fully assembled and works beautifully.

I also have made a file that has outlines for padding to go in places that contact the body to make this as comfortable as possible.

The research on apps to use will be on going because new apps are released almost daily. There are definitely good ones out there but with this being such a popular form of technology, better ones will be out before we even know it.

The next step is to get photos of the finished product and post all the files to Thingiverse.com so everyone can have access to it.

Project Update 1

Since the last post, I have been focusing on the modeling aspect of things. I did look into what kind of apps are available for download right now, and there seem to be a good amount. It looks like there is a suitable app for many of the situations I can picture my project would be used for. In particular, Google has a very good app that goes hand in hand with their Cardboard project, using the same name. In the app, just a few things you can do, are fly above cities in google maps and view 3D models of historic things. This app could be used to help people who are unable to get out of the house or even leave their bed. It would let them feel like they are actually there or looking at this object in real life. Google Cardboard also lets people take 3D/360 pictures. So people can start documenting things on there own and share it with these people, and everyone else in that regard.

Now for my design. My initial goal was to have the whole thing be 3D printable. And I was able to achieve that. The only room for improvement is to make the assembly better. As of now, there needs to be glue involved to keep certain pieces together.

For instance, as of now, these parts need to be glued together.


There will flanges to make sure they line up perfectly, but in the end it would be nice to have them clip together without glue.

All of the other parts though will assemble with out need of anything else.

Here are the sides of the headset and how they attach. There will be pins that attach the two pieces together. Much like the ones used in the hand to attach the fingers.


Here we see the part the goes over the top of your head and how it attaches to the headset. There is a dovetail joint the has a hard stop in the back to make sure it stays in place.



I am currently still working on the part that holds the phone and flips up. It will lock it in place and have openings to allow access to the headphone port.


I still need to finish the hinge and the way it will lock once flipped up.

If time allows I would like to make a part that then gets clipped to the part that hold the phone. It could be used to add a personal touch to each headset.

Once all assembled, this is what it will look like on a persons head.

The only thing that need to be added one assembled is the elastic band that goes around the back of the head. That get attached to the side pieces here:



I also need to model in a place for the headphone wires to put in. In the best case scenario, the wires would run through the model and the headphones would come out right by the ears on the side pieces.

The next step is to start printing the pieces that are fully modeled. The only problem is that my filament has not shipped yet. So I will need to use some from my work. I will want my final headset in the colors I chose, but printing in what i have at work will prove the parts can be printed in the first place. I also need to finish modeling a few parts and then print those. While my parts are being printed, I will use that time to do further research into the apps available and if there is anyone out there building apps for the same demographic I have in mind.

Mask Project Research

This semester, our first project is to design a mask. One that either enhances or inhibits one or more senses. The mask has to cover at least half of our face and be wearable by other people.

As soon as I heard the project outline, I started writing ideas down. The first few ideas that I come up with were more or less research outlines. I wanted to look up superhero mask and masks/glasses that include a type of technology, like Google glass or virtual reality headsets. The problem with things like virtual reality headsets is that they are expensive. Even ones that use a smart phone are still $100 on average. So my initial idea is to create a VR headset that is printable at home. It would save a lot of money and make the VR headset easier to access in many applications.

I then started to think of what the implications could be for having a cheap/easy 3D printable VR headset. My initial thoughts went to people who aren't able to do things like play video games. Whether from disabilities or other unforeseen circumstances. Using a VR headset eliminates the need for use of the hand in these circumstances. My second thought was for people who do have use of their hands but aren't able to leave their home, the hospital or are bed ridden. While seeing images on TV screens and computers is still amazing, putting on the VR headset makes you really feel like you are there. We can use this technology to help these people feel like they can escape the confines of wherever they are trapped. It could be used as a type of therapy. 

When doing research on the VR headset, I found that there are some cheap versions out there already. Google has a cool one made out of cardboard. https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/

But I cant see this being very comfortable. And the quality of it would definitely hinder the experience.

My goal for this project is to design a VR headset that is fully 3D printable, or as close as possible. It will be comfortable to wear to make the experience as good as possible. I will also be doing research into what is available as far as applications you can download on your phone to enhance the experience as well.