Google turned its attention to virtual reality earlier this year with the launch of its Cardboard do-it-yourself VR viewer, and now it’s bringing functionality to Google Maps to support it. A new “easter egg” in Google Maps for Android allows Cardboard owners to activate VR in Street View and tour around cities worldwide. It’s enabled after you double-tap the navigation circle in the lower right of the Google Maps app which then activates the side-by-side VR view.
If you’ve not yet acquired Google Cardboard, you can fold your own or buy a viewer kit from a variety of manufacturers. While it’s just made of cardboard and uses an Android smartphone for the display, Google has shipped more than 500,000 units, suggesting that there’s demand for the company’s experiment. Google has even introduced an SDK for developers, allowing them to easily create compatible Android apps.
