Google makes expeditions accessible to all

Until now, only school classes have been able to benefit from a worldwide virtual educational journey. However, the Expeditions application from Google is now available to all mobile VR headset owners thanks to a new version.

The possibilities that VR offers in the field of education for schools and other institutional facilities are like one of our Reports shows, gigantic. Since its entry into the VR market, Google has been trying to drive this area forward by developing the VR experience called Expeditions for school classes using a Google Cardboard.

Explore historical places virtually

Initially, Expeditions was a platform that enabled school classes to go on excursions to faraway places. To be able to integrate the application into lessons, classes need a set consisting of Google Cardboard, tablet and a router that connects everyone together. The teacher acts as a tour guide and up to 30 pupils can connect to them or join them on their journey. The teacher guides the class through the virtual sights and provides historical and relevant facts about the places.

New version for all headset owners

Until now, the app was only available to public institutions for educational purposes. However, Google has now released a new stand-alone solo version that allows any headset owner to travel to a wide variety of places around the world - and beyond. In the stand-alone version, users can choose their own destinations.

Interesting travel options are available for this, for example you can take a tour from the Machu Picchu about the Antarctica and view the wonders and landscapes of the world. But users can also marvel at the deepest oceans and even outer space, i.e. places that are not so easy to travel to in real life. For example, if you want to know what it's like on the I.S.S. aNow you can take a trip there.

There is a total of over 200 expeditions to choose from. All locations are shown in 360-degree and 3D images, with additional information and descriptions making the virtual experience even more exciting and educational.

Besides of the new version for the Google Cardboard and Google Daydream, an iOS version has also been announced and is due to be released soon.

Source: techcrunch / VR Nerds