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YOU CAN BUILD NIGHT VISION GOGGLES OUT OF AN OLD VR HEADSET

A discontinued headset nobody wanted, a Raspberry Pi, and infrared light your eyes cannot see — working night vision for the price of second-hand salvage.

by Tolga Ozuygur

FULL CAD BOM FIRMWARE DOCS

Open-hardwareDisplays

difficulty
●●●●○
time
a weekend-plus
license
MIT
repo
repo ACTIVE59 stars

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

  • 3D printer + filament — printable parts — files are in the repo
  • Dev board / microcontroller — runs the project firmware

Partner

Reach your Pi from anywhere — Remote desktop to the machine running this build — no port forwarding, works right from the browser.Try Getscreen.me
1

COMPAREE VERDICT

This is a working night vision build that uses salvaged consumer hardware as the shell, which is clever, but it will take longer than a weekend because there are no written instructions. The repository publishes the printable parts and a Python script that works, but the rest is reverse-engineering from photos and a video. The author is explicit about this: no full guide exists yet. The electronics are straightforward — a Pi 3 A+, an IR-CUT camera, six infrared LED boards, and a power bank — but you will spend time identifying which Waveshare boards those are and which camera model to buy, because there is no parts list with links. The script was tested on Buster, not Bullseye, so if you are on a newer Raspberry Pi OS image, expect to fix library calls. The single biggest trap is buying a Samsung Gear VR that turns out to have a cracked lens or a broken head strap, because the second-hand market is full of them and there is no checklist in the repository for what to look for. This is a project for someone who enjoys working from photos and does not need their hand held, and who already knows their way around a Raspberry Pi. If that is you, the result is genuinely impressive. If it is not, wait for someone else to write the missing guide.

NOT IN THE REPO

  • —All printable parts are published: camera holder, battery case and clip, LED caps, cable clips and the full headset model.
  • —The software is a single Python script that uses MMAL to build the side-by-side images and starts at boot.
  • —There is no written build guide. The repository has photos in the pictures folder and the author's own build video.
  • —The script was tested on Raspberry Pi OS Buster, not Bullseye, so expect to work around library changes if you are on a newer image.
  • —No bill of materials or parts list with links — you have to identify the Waveshare IR LED boards and the specific camera model from the photos.
  • —MIT licence, no restrictions on use.

Can I build this?

PrintCamera holder, battery case and clip, LED caps, cable clips, plus the full headset model if the salvaged Gear VR shell is damaged.
BuySecond-hand Samsung Gear VR, Raspberry Pi 3 A+, Pi IR-CUT camera, six Waveshare infrared LED boards, power bank with two USB outputs (one at least 2 A), button switch.
Tools3D printer, soldering iron, basic hand tools for assembly. A Linux machine or familiarity with SSH for the Pi setup.
SkillsComfortable reverse-engineering a build from photos and video. Soldering, Python, and working around library version mismatches on Raspberry Pi OS.
TimeA weekend-plus, mostly spent identifying parts, sourcing a usable second-hand headset, and debugging the script on a newer OS image if you are not on Buster.
Cost$$, dominated by the infrared LED boards and the Pi camera. The Gear VR itself is cheap second-hand, but expect to pay for shipping or drive to collect it.

Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.

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Gallery

upload://cmsu6mjle1lq2pd1z32euomr9/upload-69c6bd19.jpg
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upload://cmsu6mjle1lq2pd1z32euomr9/upload-d7821762.jpg
upload://cmsu6mjle1lq2pd1z32euomr9/upload-fc155bc9.jpg
upload://cmsu6mjle1lq2pd1z32euomr9/upload-6e6c0bda.jpg
upload://cmsu6mjle1lq2pd1z32euomr9/upload-a01f2930.jpg
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upload://cmsu6mjle1lq2pd1z32euomr9/upload-897b85fd.jpg

Start here

Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.

  1. 1.Source a second-hand Samsung Gear VR(Check the lens for cracks and the head strap for broken clips. The model does not matter as long as the shell is intact.)
  2. 2.Identify the IR LED boards from the repository photos (Search Waveshare's catalogue for infrared LED boards that match the ones shown. You need six.)
  3. 3.Print the parts from the STL folder(Camera holder, battery case and clip, LED caps, cable clips. Print the full headset model only if the salvaged shell is damaged.)
  4. 4.Set up Raspberry Pi OS Buster on a Pi 3 A+(The script was tested on Buster. If you use Bullseye or later, expect to fix deprecated MMAL calls.)
  5. 5.Run the Python script and configure autostart (The script builds the side-by-side images the headset needs. Test it manually before enabling autostart at boot.)

Resources

Documentation, files and community threads for this build — we link straight to the original sources and never rehost the creator’s files.

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KNOWN ISSUES

  • Buying a second-hand Gear VR with a cracked lens or broken head strap. Inspect it in person if possible, or ask the seller for close-up photos of the lens and all clips.
  • No parts list with links means you have to identify the Waveshare IR LED boards and the camera model from the repository photos yourself. Budget an hour for this.
  • The Python script uses MMAL, which changed between Buster and Bullseye. If you are on a newer OS, you will hit deprecated function errors and need to rewrite calls.
  • The six IR LED boards draw current. If your power bank does not deliver at least 2 A on one output, the Pi will throttle or reboot under load.
  • No written assembly guide. You are working from photos in the pictures folder and whatever you can pause in the author's build video. Someone used to reading schematics will be fine; someone expecting a step-by-step will struggle.
  • The camera must be an IR-CUT model — a standard Pi camera with the infrared filter removed. A normal Pi camera will not see the infrared light, and the whole thing will not work in the dark.

Can I use a different VR headset shell?

Yes, but you will need to redesign the printed mounts. The STL files are sized for the Gear VR's internal dimensions.

Will this work on Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye or Bookworm?

The script was tested on Buster. Bullseye and later deprecated some MMAL functions, so expect to rewrite parts of the Python script.

How far can you see with this setup?

The infrared LEDs flood a room, so you get clear vision out to maybe five or six metres in complete darkness. Beyond that, the image fades to black.

Is this actual night vision or just infrared?

It is active infrared imaging: the LEDs illuminate the scene in a wavelength your eyes cannot see, and the camera picks it up. Not the same as passive image intensification used in military systems.

Where is the bill of materials?

There is not one. You have to identify the parts from the photos in the repository. The infrared LED boards are Waveshare modules, but the exact model number is not stated.

Community builds

No community builds yet — be the first, we feature the best ones.

Discussion1

FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM

The whole thing runs on salvaged hardware — a Gear VR nobody wanted any more, a Pi, and infrared LEDs. What would you use working night vision for that does not need military-grade range?

CompareeTEAM8d ago

Practical notes from our verification: the repository has all the printable parts and a working Python script, but no written build guide or parts list with links. The author is explicit about this — it is photos and a build video only. The script was tested on Raspberry Pi OS Buster, and MMAL calls changed after that, so expect to rewrite lines if you are on Bullseye or later. The single biggest time sink is not the build itself, it is identifying which Waveshare IR LED boards those are from the repository photos, because no model number is given. A second-hand Gear VR is cheap, but the market is full of cracked lenses and broken straps, so inspect it in person or ask the seller for close-ups. The result is genuinely impressive if you get it working — clear vision in a completely dark room — but this is not a weekend project for someone expecting a step-by-step guide.

Tolga Ozuygur

Tolga built this to turn a discontinued consumer headset into something useful again. The repository states there are no full instructions yet, only the files and photos needed to replicate it, which suggests this was published mid-build rather than after it was finished.

GitHub

Star the project on GitHub

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GitHub repo