Sep – Dec 2018
Helping communities collaborate. Powered by your phone, Youniverse is a Google-sponsored exploration of an affordable mixed reality headset. We wanted to create an easy, fun, and effective tool for people to interact with their community and crowdsource local urban planning feedback.
Created in collaboration with Emil Gaden
Where we live is more than a place. It is a community of people who work together to create a happy and healthy home. With busy schedules it can be difficult to keep up with neighbors, work with local government, and act on civic discourse.
Youniverse is a magic marker that helps you draw in 3D on the real world, making it easy to have open dialogue and share ideas directly with your community at your convenience.
Using a phone and Google Assistant, Youniverse brings your ideas to life using Google Warehouse’ large library of 3D assets. Have a thought? Share a quick voice note to go alongside your vision.
Where Google Cardboard provided virtual reality to anyone with a smartphone, Youniverse adds an interactive dimension that communities can employ cost-effectively at scale.
You are more than just a data point. Now your ideas and notes are more discoverable to your community. Review the key issues with your neighbors and hear from different perspectives.
Google’s Maps and Android Auto platforms bring powerful intelligence to your Youniverse. By comparing urban and traffic data from around the world, Google AI can provide smart suggestions for your neighborhood.
Youniverse is made entirely of recyclable cardboard and functions purely with with computer vision. That means, besides your phone, the entire experience works without any charging or electronics.
Your phone’s camera picks up every tap or trigger pull on your Cardboard Controller and interprets it just like a touchscreen tap. The Controller even features a satisfying spring loaded trigger.
Youniverse began as an exploration for a more accessible AR controller. With Moore’s Law and the powerful cameras in our pockets, it became apparent that we could power a next generation Cardboard experience.
To power Youniverse, we foresaw an application for sensor fusion combining machine vision, head tracking, and depth mapping to track each tap and gaze cue from our users.
Mixed reality immerses digital media within the real world, removing boundaries and creating transformational world-crossing experiences in real time.
In fact, Cardboard Controller is a multi-functional platform. We built in a swappable Kit Slot at the top of each controller. Using machine vision, you can quickly swap to a wide array of apps. Paint, socialize, or play? Try kit swapping to Tilt Brush.