Google have been offering virtual reality (VR) field trips to students with the Google Cardboard and the Expeditions app for quite some time, allowing students to visit landmarks such as the Taj Mahal, or see famous objects such as Michangelo’s David come to life in augmented reality (AR). Google are now opening up a ‘Solo’ mode in the Expeditions app to allow those VR field trips to be open to everyone.
The Expeditions app is available to Android users now through the Google Play Store, with an iOS version ‘coming soon’. The new ‘Self-Guided Expeditions’ mode allows users to explore the world while sat comfortably at home. The Expeditions app is compatible with Google Cardboard, or for Daydream-ready phones, an enhanced made is available through Daydream View.
Users can use Expedition as either an ‘Explorer’ or a ‘Guide’. As an Explorer, users see points of interest which will be highlighted with information pertaining to them, while Guide mode allows users to add annotations to the tour information, or draw inside a scene using a finger or a stylus. The Guide mode is designed to be useful to teachers to draw students attention to a particular sight or bit of information, then each connected Explorer will see the information the Guide has added.
The new mode has been added to the ‘Severn Modern Wonders of the World’ and the Great Barrier Reef tours, along with some others, such as the Cathedrals tour, or a visit to a Baseball stadium.
A video trailer showing the new functions of Google Expeditions is available to view below.
VRFocus will bring you further information on Google’s VR and AR projects as it becomes available.