Tech Agency Extends Cardboard Abilities With NFC
Knit, a creative technology company based in the United Kingdom, has launched an object-triggered experience on the Google Cardboard with its project called “Cardboard Objects”. With these objects installed on a Cardboard VR headset, users can experience a whole new content that is “app-based” and “relevant”, relying on the Near Field Communications (NFC) technology.
Cardboard Objects support smartphones with NFC capabilities. When a supported smartphone is inserted on a Cardboard, it lets the user to view a content in virtual reality based on the real NFC object placed on the headset. For example, a postcard that has an embedded NFC chip is placed on the headset, will let the user to experience the imagery on the postcard in virtual reality. This is possible thanks to the built-in NFC chip to the official Cardboard headset unveiled during the 2014 Google I/O conference.
The creative tech agency has prototypes for these NFC-triggered objects, including postcards and keys. Another cool addition to the project is the ability of the user to place NFC trading cards or character assets to interact with a smartphone game played by using the Cardboard, letting level or character unlockings possible by just placing an NFC object.
According to the company, these cardboard objects have limited durations for the VR experiences as of now – that is within 1 to 5 minutes. In some experiences, the user can prolong the duration of the object’s effectivity by placing collectible elements that extend the cycle by having multiple assets available for a single app. It added that the relatively low cost of the Google Cardboard as well as some of its nimble features have pushed their efforts to focus on developing the NFC objects for the said VR headset. By having these interactive objects on the headset, the user experience will be expanded from using the manual controls on the Cardboard to viewing a whole new perspective on things with the help of virtual reality.
Nick Thompson, one of founding partners of Knit, said that the VR hype surrounding the latest VR headsets like the Google Cardboard has been a game-changer. He added that with the refinements to the usability and consumer reachability of these VR headsets, the technology can offer brand-new product experience opportunities for the mainstream consumer.
For more information on the Cardboard Objects initiative of Knit, please visit the following websites:
http://www.weareknit.co.uk/en
http://www.nfcworld.com/2015/02/05/333973/knit-extends-google-cardboard-nfc-objects/
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/02/09/knit-launches-cardboard-objects-capitalise-google-cardboard-vr-headset
