How to Make Your Smartphone a VR Camera

Well sports fans, it looks like Google is bringing you up close and personal with your favorite players, putting you on the field and in the middle of the plays without actually being there. That's right, Bank of America and Visa are teaming up with Google Cardboard to bring a virtual reality experience to Tom Brady worshippers everywhere if they've got a smartphone.

Want to feel like you're on the field, getting to hear the play call and heading to the locker room after practice? Throw on the Google Cardboard headset and be a part of the team for a few hours. 

10,000 limited edition headsets were given away at Gilette Stadium yesterday to lucky Patriot's fans who will now be able to experience how the team practices, with a view from the field through using the Google Cardboard App. Want to feel like you're on the field, getting to hear the play call and heading to the locker room after practice? Throw on the Google Cardboard headset and be a part of the team for a few hours. Don't have an Android or an iOS phone that supports this app? The 360-degree video is online for a sneak peek of what VR users are experiencing.   

The VR headset works by placing your phone inside the cardboard structure and uses lenses that, when used with the compatible apps, create a 3D effect once placed in front of your eyes. As you move your head, the images will respond as if you are in the setting on your virtual reality screen, allowing you to feel like you're experiencing the world around you from your actual position. Imagine something like when you use Google Street View to explore the area around your destination with real time photos. The Cardboard App is automatically launched when you place the phone in the headset thanks to a nifty NFC chip located inside. 

If you haven't yet explored the virtual reality world with the set up that slightly resembles the periscope I used to make out of cereal boxes when I was a kid, you can easily get started with a headset available on Amazon. Starting at about $12, it's easy to assemble and actually comes with a protective sleeve that you can use to store the headset when it's not in use. If you're too cheap for that or you want to take a shot at assembling your own in the name of creativity or because you thought it would be fun because you saw it on Pinterest... have at it. In any case, it's simple to get started with at home VR with Google Cardboard and your smartphone.