Facebook Introduces Its UFO-Looking 'Surround 360' Video Capture System
17 globally synced cameras for one perfectly stitched shot.
Social media giant Facebook unveiled its latest projects and concepts on April 12 during the F8 Conference for developers, and its crown jewel is this: the Surround 360. What appears to have a strikingly similar disposition of a Steven Spielberg UFO or a Neill Blomkamp prop, the saucer-esque rig is composed of 17 individual cameras — 14 along its horizon and three fisheye lenses positioned at the top and bottom. These cameras, which are globally synced to each other, capture all angles simultaneously to create a true 360-degree view through its lenses. After processed through proprietary software, a separate software program stitches all the frames together for a seamless, artifact-free 360 perspective. Not only is this efficient for the user, but this ensures that all imagery is captured to its highest quality and that no single frame is off or distorted due to rolling shutter effect, alignment or time differentiation.
To learn more about the Facebook Surround 360 rig, click here.
