A photograph has the power to give us a glimpse of memories and events. It records the important events, people and memories of our lives. People have always been obsessed with their photographs, many a times giving photographs more importance than anything else. There has been a tremendous improvement and development in the field of photography with new and advanced technology redefining the way photographs are being captured.
Cameras have evolved to a great extent in the past couple of decades and have changed the definition of photography. With the latest cameras and their advanced features, taking a photograph is not just capturing a moment, but it has become an art. Some of the most renowned technology giants are investing a huge amount of money and resource in development cameras beyond our imagination and one of them is the Project Beyond by Samsung.
Project Beyond, which is still in the prototype stage will revolutionize the way photographs are taken. Project Beyond is the world’s first 360 degree camera which can capture 3D panorama still images, stream live videos and also store it for future viewing, all in stereoscopic 3D. The Samsung Beyond is a circular camera with 17 full HD cameras, 8 pairs around the edge capturing a 45 degree angle and one top facing camera, all held together by a plastic body rested on a tripod.
The camera runs on a processor placed on the disk shaped motherboard. It also includes storage chips, image sensors and batteries. The Beyond camera can power itself when taken out on the roads using the internal power source.According to Samsung this camera will capture and process 35 megapixels per frame and the 3D-aware stitching technology can capture a scene just as the way a human naturally sees it. Once the development is complete, Samsung plans to take the Beyond camera all over the world to the most noteworthy events and beautiful locations and capture all the scenes and allow the user to view it in a way as if they are really there creating a Virtual Reality experience. This camera can also be installed on a drone .
The Project Beyond is developed by a small research team in Samsung called the Think Tank Team headed by Pranav Mistry in San Jose, California. The product is currently available to every Gear VR user. With the Project Beyond camera, the Gear VR will become a pool of ever increasing content which will allow the Gear VR user to teleport instantly to the locations and events without actually being there eliminating the hassles of travelling and providing a realistic experience in the comfort of your living room.
All you have to do is wear the Samsung’s virtual reality headset and remotely immerse yourself and navigate to any location where the camera is set up from where ever you currently are. The camera has the capability to capture 1 GB of 360 degree 3D content every second. The Beyond camera does not support audio capture as yet.
Virtual reality has been used in the field of gaming and some amusement rides and modern theme parks. But this is the first time a camera will allow you to teleport to any location in the world where the Beyond camera is placed and see the 3D stereoscopic view through the Gear VR headset in an unparalleled 3D perception. According to the team working on this project, this is just a taste of what the final system that they are working on will be capable of.
Summary
The Project Beyond 360 degree camera will change the way we perceive photography and videography taking it beyond the next level!
