Android is moving from mobile devices to virtual-reality headsets, according to a new report. The Wall Street Journal, citing two unnamed sources, reported Friday that Google has tasked a group of engineers with developing a version of Android to can power VR applications.
"Tens of engineers" are working on the project, according to the Journal, which will be freely distributed like its cousins for smartphones, tablets, and wearables.
Google declined to comment on the report, which included few details about how Android VR will look or when it might become available. The move comes in the wake of Facebook’s $2 billion purchase of Oculus, and Oculus’ subsequent move to develop new forms of storytelling powered by VR.
VR dominated this week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, where a new headset from Valve and progress on Sony’s Project Morpheus were among the biggest developments.
The Journal reports that Android VR is being led by Clay Bavor and Jeremy Doig. Bavor is partly responsible for Google Cardboard, a low-cost, do-it-yourself alternative to expensive headsets that turns your smartphone into a viewer.
The Cardboard app has been downloaded more than 1 million times since it became available last summer.