Enhanced Depth Perception With Dodocase VR

After hearing about Google Cardboard my mind immediately went to an XKCD comic where he explores depth perception. The comic proposes setting up webcams on each goal post of a football field and beaming that image to a VR headset. This is supposed to give you the depth of a huge being, making clouds and buildings look like models.

My local makerspace, Openlab Idaho, was fortunate enough to take part in a demo for a Google Carboard Derivative called DodoCase VR, which put a VR kit in my hands. After playing around with all the neat demos I started to experiment with stereoscopic images. In the spirit of the XKCD comic I took two pictures of my house three feet apart and looked at them side by side on my phone with the Dodocase VR. The result was fabulous and I knew I had to step it up and get some video and even better, a live stream!

Step 1: A Stand for Your Cameras

When it comes to attaching your cameras, the hardest part is getting them lined up vertically, so having a uniform surface that isn't bent or warped is essential. I used a thin wooden board attached to cymbal stand. The cymbal stand has several adjustable joints made positioning different shots, but you can easily make a stand out of other easy to find materials.

Step 2: Finding and Attaching Cameras

When finding cameras to use, having two identical cameras is the easiest way to make sure that the focus of each camera are the same. After you have your cameras, you can start experiment with positioning the cameras. At first I just used tape and a small board to do this. The best effect you will find is with the cameras parallel to each other and perpendicular with the board.

Step 3: Broadcast Software

There are many places to get software to record with. The best set of software I found is called Open Broadcast software, which made it easy to set the feed from each camera side by side. OBS is easy, and also free.

If you have a spot where you can keep a permanent setup of your rig, OBS has built in twitch tv support. By following a few of the tutorials that are out there for twitch, you can have a live stream up in less than an hour.

Step 4: Find a Place to Shoot

You can probably find a lot of places at ground level to get some great footage but getting up a few floors is where the full effect of enhanced depth perception comes about. I got my best shots on top of parking garages, they are usually easy to access and give great views.