DIY Night Vision VR Stereoscopic Goggles V1

Kicking Things Off

So, there I was, staring at this pair of budget VR goggles I snagged off Amazon, meant for slotting in an iPhone and calling it a day. But, you know me, I couldn’t just leave it at that. I thought, “Hey, why not crank this up a notch?” And that’s exactly what I did. Armed with more enthusiasm than expertise, I decided to transform these run-of-the-mill goggles into something out of a sci-fi movie.

The Great Swap-Out

First up, that phone mount had to go. It was designed for smartphones, but I had bigger plans. I got my hands on a 7.9″ Waveshare panoramic LCD because, why not go big? The challenge was mounting it. Enter my trusty 3D printer, a Creality Ender-3 V3 KE. Now, I’m no Picasso with this thing, but with a bit of trial and error (and a handy app called Shapr3D), I managed to design a new mount that actually worked. It was a proud dad moment, let me tell you.

Getting Techy with It

Now, for the cool part – making it actually show something useful. I hooked up a Raspberry Pi with a PiCam 2 to create this stereoscopic view, which is just a fancy way of saying each eye gets its own special scene. But the real kicker? Night vision. Yep, I attached two IR modules to the Pi, and suddenly, I’m seeing in the dark. It’s like being a superhero, except my power is rigging gadgets together.

Keeping the Lights On

All this tech needs juice, and I wasn’t about to be tethered to a wall socket. So, I grabbed a laptop power bank – portable, powerful, and perfect for my Frankenstein’s monster of a VR set. It’s like carrying a little power station with me, keeping the magic alive wherever I roam.

Wrapping It Up

So there you have it, my journey from a simple VR headset to a night-vision, stereoscopic wonder. It’s not the prettiest setup, and sure, there were moments I thought it might all go up in smoke. But that’s the beauty of diving into projects like this. You learn, you tinker, and sometimes, you end up with something pretty cool. Who knows what I’ll get into next, but for now, I’m just enjoying my homemade, slightly wonky VR goggles.

Update – Version 2 incoming!!