Samsung Project Beyond: 16 Cameras capturing 360 Degrees in 3D [GALLERY]
Viewing virtual reality content is a great experience, but have you ever wondered how that content was captured? No, it isn’t thanks to a stone-willed director somehow managing to get their actors to perform the same scenes over and over at different angles with the exactness needed to pull off a 360 degree scene.
It’s these awesome multi-camera rigs that shoot video simultaneously in every direction. You’ve seen the one Google’s testing (you can actually sign up for one if you’re a serious video creator), and now you’re going to get a good look at what Samsung will look to use for the content they make for Gear VR.
This is Project Beyond, an omni-directional rig that features 16 different cameras (plus one on the top for good measure). This isn’t all that dissimilar to existing 360-degree rigs that are already on the market, but Project Beyond has one very distinct and cool feature: this is the first such camera that can capture 360-degree scenes in full stereoscopic 3D.
Aside from its 3D capabilities, Project Beyond prides itself on powerful image chips, a versatile camera mount, sleek design and low-heat performance. We certainly wouldn’t mind taking this thing out into the city without fear of looking like doofi.
Here’s a look at what a scene captured with this thing might look like in its rawest format:
Of course, it’ll look much different once viewed through the Samsung Gear VR.
The technology is so new that the team’s most recent showing was an eyes-only affair, and they’re not yet ready to make this thing available to the public. ThinkTank, which is a cutting edge research team inside Samsung, considers this a project more than a product for the time being. The goal is for that to change, of course, but they likely have a lot of kinks to work out before they can consider it ready for prime time.
Regardless, Samsung suggests we shouldn’t be surprised to see video content created with Project Beyond begin to show up in Milk VR for viewing on their virtual reality headsets as they’ve already let a few folks get their hands on it for early testing. In the meantime, you can get a taste of existing 3D virtual reality content on your Samsung Gear VR by following the steps we’ve mentioned in the past.