Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google already shipped more than 5 million units of its Cardboard viewer, a device that allows people to experience virtual reality (VR) through mobile apps.
The search engine giant first introduced the Cardboard VR device a year and a half ago. Since then, more than 1.5 million users became Google Cardboard fans.
Google Cardboard apps reached 25 million downloads
“With just Cardboard and the smartphone in your pocket, you can travel to faraway places and visit imagined worlds. Since then everyone from droid lovers and Sunday edition subscribers, to big kids and grandmas have been able to enjoy VR—often for the very first time,” according to Google in a blog post.
The company also disclosed that there were than 25 million downloads of Cardboard apps from Google Play since the launching of the virtual reality viewer in June 2014.
Google said, “out of 1,000+ Cardboard apps on Google Play, one of your favorites got you screaming “aaaaaaahwsome,” while another “gave you goosebumps.” The search engine giant also noted that users watched 350,000 hours of YouTube videos in virtual reality.
In addition, users captured more than 750,000 VR photos since the search engine giant launched the Cardboard Camera in December. More than 500,000 students took VR field trips/expeditions using the virtual reality viewer including the White House and 150 other destinations around the world.
Google files patent for drone delivery receptacle
Separately, the search engine giant filed a patent application in the United States, which was described as a “delivery receptacle” for “aerial delivery devices. “The patent application indicated that the delivery receptacle was designed to store packages safely, and uses infrared beacons to connect and guide the drones for delivery, according to Reuters.
Earlier this month, Dave Vos, head of Project Wing at Google X, the secretive research laboratory of Google, said they are “making huge progress” on developing a delivery system using drones. According to him, the company would probably launch its drone delivery system sometime in 2017.
During the Consumer Electronics Show, Mr. Vos emphasized that the existing regulations are enough to allow drone operations. He said, “I would advocate strongly that the need for additional regulation is very, very small. That in fact, if you allow people to do things and replicate what manned aviation pilots in this airspace do, it already works. We don’t need new regulation. We need to just be allowed to go do it.”
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