3D Printed Foldable Head Mounted Display

Google Glass, Oculus Rift, Vuzix and MyVu are just a few of the head mounted displays that are popular among technophiles. They’re designed to immerse us in augmented or virtual realities, allow us to view 3D media or continuous data streams of texts and emails. While those features are indeed great, the prices we pay for them are not. Owning or using a 3D printer can cut the price of head mounted displays significantly, which is what maker [Tony] has done in designing his $80 Bluetooth Head Mounted Display.

His HMD adjustable frame and casings was designed using ABS filament pumped through a Solidoodle Pro 3D printer. The optics are positioned on the right side of the frame and consist of a .96-inch OLED display with a mirrored right-angle prism and a magnifying lens. An Arduino Nano displays information on the OLED, which is then magnified by the magnifying glass and projected onto the prism for the wearer to view.

The trick is, the software he used to project the information displays the data in reverse so it reads correctly while looking through the prism. The display receives the information via a Bluetooth module connected to the Arduino, which also drives a tiny speaker and RGB LED, all of which is powered by an Adafruit PowerBoost module and LiPo battery. The HMD is controlled by using a corresponding app that’s available for both Android and Linux-based mobile devices (sorry Microsoft fans). It may not be a $1,500 pair of AR/VR glasses but it is, for all intents and purposes, an affordable head mounted display that can be made on the cheap. See more on the project page, including the STL files! (Files for 3D printing your own)