Camera company Ricoh has been in the 360-degree market for awhile now, producing products like the Theta S and Theta SC. With CES 2017 taking place this week Ricoh has announced the next camera to feature in its product range, currently called the Ricoh R Development Kit.
As the name indicates this isn’t a consumer camera just yet, but it keeps a similar design to previous 360-degree models, albeit far more rugged. One of the main features Ricoh is touting looks to be a first for 360-degree camera, a device capable of delivering up to 24 continuous hours of fully spherical, 360-degree live video streams.
Alongside the 24 hour live-streaming functionality and recording, the Ricoh R duel lenses record in 2K resolution at 30 frames per second. Videos are stitched in-camera in real time using the Equirectangular Projection Format, a standard format for fully spherical images. Users will be able to record content onto microSD card or via HDMI or USB for 24 hour recording.
360-degree have been used for a wide range of applications even though it’s still in its infancy, and Ricoh has been testing the suitable possibilities of continuous streaming. It held a series of beta tests with an entertainment company recording a live concert, and an internet high school enrollment ceremony that involved students participating via live streaming video.
Ricoh is initially offering the 360-degree camera as part of a development kit as it wants industries including entertainment, gaming, education, scientific research and more to create applications that will explore potential use cases.
The Ricoh R Development Kit consists of the camera, camera stand, downloadable software development kit (SDK), plus image-control tools and source code, and will launch this Spring.
For any further details on the Ricoh R Development Kit, keep reading VRFocus.