When Shapeways designer Masaharu Ono began conceiving of his elaborate, 3D printed virtual reality (VR) headset, chances are that he didn’t find much inspiration on the web. An image search of “VR headset” reveals some pretty definitively un-sexy set-ups that have a great deal more to do with function (like the incredible and affordable Samsung Gear VR headset) than form.
Possibly reeling from a lack of inspiration and admiration, Ono sat down with a sketch pad–first real, then digital–and evidently determined to inject some glamour into VR viewing. According to a brief Shapeways blog calling attention to Ono’s way-out-there design, the real-world designer found his inspiration not in the tech world, but in nature.
There’s very little about the finished piece that is suggestive of nature aside from the curvilinearity of the design, which is perhaps the first and most overt contrast between Ono’s VR goggles and those we’ve seen on the web. Printed in white nylon plastic with a matte finish, the headset must be relatively lightweight despite its volume, which could potentially be awkward if it weren’t so, well, glamorouslyGiger-esque. It’s as though one of Giger’s gorgeous alien heads met a stereoscope and, perhaps, a basket weaver.
Read more at Shapeways