How To Make A VR Headset For PC

When it comes down to it, many virtually reality systems are not really ready for the market yet. Sure, they cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, but not all of them are 100% fully functional yet. In other words, paying a lot of cash for something that does not work full force might not be the best decision. However, for a relatively low price, you can make your own VR headset for PC. So, how to make a VR headset for PC is what we are going to cover right now.

Do keep in mind that these are only the most basic steps, an outline in other words, because making one of these items from scratch is something that will take quite a bit of time and patience.

A Homemade VR Headset

Yes, there are ready to go cardboard box designs that you can make yourself, but they really are not the best in terms of visual quality, durability, or anything else for that matter. The Google Cardboard is one option you can go with, if you want to model your own cardboard VR headset after it, but we personally would recommend making your own headset with some more serious components.

Now, when it comes to making your very own headset for virtual reality, there are three main components to keep in mind. These components include the lenses, the box, and the display. So, let’s take a quick look at each of these right now.

The Lenses

First off, you are going to need lenses to create the actual visual experience which a real virtual reality headset is supposed to provide you with. Keep in mind that quality is key here, because the better the lenses are, the better the visuals and optics will be. You need lenses that are very clear and accurate to make this work.

Something which some people do is to simply extract the lenses from an old pair of binoculars, but those might not be best. Buying some fresh 5x magnification lenses might be the best option here. There are more expensive lenses that you can buy for around $100, which are specially designed for this kind of thing, but when you consider the price of the rest of the materials needed, at this point, buying an actual VR headset might be more cost effective.

The Display

​Yes, you are going to need a display here, which in most cases, for homemade VR headsets, is going to be a smartphone. Keep in mind that a high quality smartphone is going to work best here, but you do not want something that is too big or heavy, because it will weigh down your face. Now, this is supposed to be for PC, not for smartphones, so you will need to find a way to transfer all PC videos and games, or stream them, to your phone display, which we will get to later.

The Housing

​The other thing that you need to make is the housing for the phone and the lenses. Some people like to use cardboard for the DIY VR housing, but something like a foam board is probably the better option here. Foam boards are more durable, easier to work with, and will end up being more comfortable than cardboard.

You will need to work out the focal length of the lenses you have, as well as the shape of them, in order to cut the right shapes for the housing. Essentially, the length of the foam box you cut will be around 1.5 times the focal distance of the lenses. In terms of building this housing, there are quite a few steps involved indeed, and it’s quite technical, so do your research.

Making The VR Headset PC Friendly

Sure, using your phone is fine, but there is just not much VR content for phones yet. You want to be able to use your PC for this. This is the difficult part: getting whatever is on your PC screen to show on your mobile display for the homemade VR headset. For one, you will need to find head tracking circuitry in order to make this work. You will also need the right software to connect your phone and PC for these purposes.

Conclusion

​When all is said and done, if you are a DIY guy, or a serious engineer, and you would rather make your own VR headset for PC, rather than buying one, this is how you would go about it, in the most basic way.

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