3D Printed phone case that turns your smartphone into a virtual reality headset

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There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t see a 3D printed smartphone case, mainly because I’ve got one on the back of my phone… but seriously they were all the rage six months ago when 3D printing was taking babysteps into the consumer market place, “Look you can print a phone case with your own name on the back” presumably in case you lose the phone and it needs returning?

We’ve been waiting for some intuitive 3D printing apps to come along and in all fairness there are a few; the 123D apps, Let’s Create by Sculpteo, Makies and Pirate 3D but what we weren’t expecting was a 3D printed phone case that could completely change the way we interact with our smartphones.

Remember the Virtual Boy? That spectacular red failure by Nintendo? Well, that seemed like the death of Virtual Reality – and the Lawnmower Man made it look so darn cool! – but wait, it’s back? With a vengeance.

Yes, with Google Glass being a sort of virtual reality headset and the HUGE success on Kickstarter that was Oculus Rift it seems VR is making a come back. Those two are pricey and difficult to come by now but one company is about to change all that with your own smartphone, some 3D printing and some optics.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we present to you the vrAse: The Smartphone Virtual Reality Case.

Forget the name that makes you think of a bottom shaped flower receptacle and listen up. The vrAse is a 3D printed smartphone case, which you strap to your noggin allowing you to: see cinema sized 3D, play virtual reality games, record what you’re seeing hands free as you skate down hill and play strange looking virtual reality games in which you and friends move imaginary chess pieces around.

The best bit is that because the outer casing is 3D printed it can fit pretty much any smartphone, oh actually wait that’s not the best bit the best bit is the price; an Occulus Rift will set you back in excess of $300, the Sony Personal 3D Viewer was £1,000 on release and there's not been a price announcement on Google Glass as of yet but the vrAse will cost about the same price as a PS4/Xbox One video game.

With 40 days of funding to go I think it is safe to say we will be seeing the vrAse funded and perhaps hitting the shelves very soon. Finally a 3D printed smartphone case that doesn't just have your name on...