Volvo breathes new life into Google’s DIY virtual reality headset

Google Cardboard, which was announced as a bit of a sideshow at this year’s Google I/O and quickly brushed off as a gimmick, turns out to be pretty cool: it converts many Android phones into fully functional VR headsets with basically a few dollars’ worth of materials. If you’re enterprising enough, you can even make the Cardboard kit yourself — Google offers instructions on how to do it. It’s no Oculus Rift, but it’s a heck of a lot cheaper and more accessible. Now, Volvo might be the first company to turn Cardboard into a serious marketing tool: it’s sending out Volvo-branded Cardboards to drum up hype for the upcoming launch of its redesigned XC90 SUV. The paper goggles are paired with an Android app (there’s an iOS version coming soon) that takes you in and around the XC90’s cockpit on a leisurely drive, accompanied to music. The experience is divided into multiple “episodes,” so you can see what it’s like owning a Swedish truck in different environments and at different times of day — only one episode is available at launch, with more to come. The Cardboard unit itself appears to be identical to the plain brown one Google offered at I/O, just dyed black and covered in Volvo branding.