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Ricoh has released pricing and full specifications for the Ricoh R Development Kit 360 degree live streaming camera that was first shown to the public at CES earlier this year. The company has also announced it is starting to take pre-orders for the device on the Ricoh R website starting in May. The kit will be available at a price point of $ 499.
The RICOH R Development Kit is capable of live-streaming fully spherical, 360-degree video in 2K resolution at 30 frames per second. The footage is stitched on the device in real time to fit the standard Equirectangular Projection Format. Streaming video can be output via HDMI or USB, and, when using a power adapter, continuously up to 24 hours. The camera can also record onto a micro SD card.
The kit consists of the camera, camera stand, a software development kit (SDK) as well as image-control tools and source code. Thanks to an open API the camera is controllable via USB. Ricoh says potential applications include live streaming of events, telepresence, computer vision and surveillance. Full specs are available on the Ricoh website.
Press Release:
Announced at CES 2017, RICOH R Development Kit delivers up 24 hours of fully spherical live streams
TOKYO and BARCELONA (Mobile World Congress 2017, Hall 8.0 J3), February 27, 2017?Ricoh today announced it is taking pre-orders of the RICOH R Development Kit, featuring the industry’s first camera capable of delivering up to 24 continuous hours of fully spherical, 360-degree live video streams. Showcased at Mobile World Congress 2017, the camera can be pre-ordered from http://ricohR.ricoh, with shipments scheduled to start in May 2017. The sales price will be $ 499.
Using Ricoh’s fully spherical imaging technology, the RICOH R Development Kit can live-stream fully spherical, 360-degree images in 2K resolution at 30 frames per second. Unique to RICOH R technology is the stitching of video within the camera in real time to the Equirectangular Projection Format, which is the standard format for fully spherical images. Video is then output via HDMI® or USB, and—by using an AC power adapter– continuous, live streaming up to 24 hours is possible. The camera records onto a micro SD card, which enables the body to be extremely thin and lightweight.
The RICOH R Development Kit consists of the camera, camera stand, downloadable software development kit (SDK), plus image-control tools and source code. Using the camera’s open API and the “RICOH R Console” image-control tool source code available through GitHub, the camera can be controlled via USB, which will enable its use in a variety of environments and industries such as telepresence and computer vision.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)