Google today announced what the company is calling the “next-generation” of its ‘Jump‘ 3D 360 camera initiative. In partnership with Google, Yi Technology has created the Yi Halo, a 17-camera clock-synchronized array that is designed to be optimized for Google’s automated Jump stitching process which creates impressively seamless 3D 360 output.

Update (4/24/17, 11:34AM PT): Google reached out to correct the price of the Yi Halo camera to $17,000, having initially stated the camera’s price as $18,000. The article below has been corrected.

Original Article (4/24/17): Google announced the Jump initiative back in 2015. Originally it was intended to be an “open” camera design that laid out the ideal camera geometry for the Jump Assembler, Google’s cloud-based automated stitching process. Over time however, the company found that an ideal 3D 360 camera for the Jump Assembler required more than just the right geometry. Having dialed back the open part of Jump, Google is today announcing the first major update to the initiative in some time.

Next-generation Jump Camera

Having worked originally with GoPro to design the ‘Odyssey’ camera for Jump, this time it’s Yi Technology who have worked with Google to create the Yi Halo, which the companies are calling the “next-generation” of Jump cameras. You can see footage captured with the camera here:

The Yi Halo shoots up to 8k x 8k at 30 FPS, or 6k x 6k at 60 FPS, and, thanks to the Jump assembler, outputs 3D 360 video. Based on the Yi 4K Action Camera, and using the Sony IMX377 sensor, the Halo houses 17 individual cameras which the company says are clock-synchronized to “work as one.” That means that when you hit the record button, all the cameras are activated simultaneously, eliminating what’s effectively a rolling-shutter distortion caused by different frame timing between cameras. An inbuilt time-lapse mode can make for some cool long-term captures.

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The Halo has its own ad-hoc WiFi network which allows a smartphone to connect and control the camera through an app. The app provides preview & remote control functions, including monitoring and settings & firmware updating which are distributed to the 17 cameras all at once. The Halo also has an on-board touchscreen display which can control all the camera’s functions.

Designed for Reliability and Portability

Priced at $17,000, the Yi Halo is relatively inexpensive as far as professional cameras go, and Google says the camera is made to be a reliable workhorse for mid-level 360 productions; the companies are touting the Halo’s operating specs: rated for continuous operation between 0° and 95°, along with a 100 minute shooting duration on the single internal battery (and there’s also an optional AC input when direct power is an option). On-board bubble-levels make it easy to ensure a level horizon with each shot.

Derin Turner, Production Director at VR Playhouse, notes “This camera and Jump ranks as one of the best and easiest pieces of equipment and platform to use on the market.”

Google says that part of what makes the Yi Halo a reliable field-camera is its impressively light 7.7 lb (3.5 kg) weight, and what comes in the box. Included in the $17k pricetag is a hard-case kit full of tools, replacement parts, chargers, memory card readers and more. The Halo is designed to be field-serviceable; the kit has two spare cameras which can easily be swapped into place so that a single camera failure wouldn’t stop progress on a shoot—the kit even comes with the screwdrivers you’ll need to make the swap. Also included in the kit is an SD card reading array which makes it much easier to pull all the data from the 17 SD cards than doing things 1 SD card at a time.

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Those paying careful attention might note that the Yi Halo has one more camera than its predecessor (the Odyssey). Indeed, the Halo has a single upward facing camera where the Odyssey did not. This makes it easier to capture action happening above the camera and eliminates the need to fill in the top view with post-production touchups.

Continued on Page 2 ‘Seamless Stitching’ >>

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Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • NooYawker

    I’ve been waiting to see what Google tosses into the ring… this is not what I was expecting. So instead of a rig holding GoPro’s in a circle it holds a GoPro knock off, the Yi.

    • OhYeah!

      It’s less about the cameras and more about the software for stitching it all seamlessly in high resolution all from the camera rig.

      • Yi vs GoPro is probably fine, but it’s still a ring so even if you resampled the light field captured by the cameras you will only ever get 4DOF video. It’s an unfortunate limitation at this price point. You will never have vertical motion parallax or be able to tilt your head sideways (I think most people tend to subconsciously slightly tilt their head one way or the other about 5° or so when watching free-viewpoint content).

  • Zach Mauch

    I love hearing about each one of these little jumps taken. We are still a way off from mass distribution of consumer VR video, but it is really cool to hear were the future is heading. I think within 5-10 years we will have stand alone (on-board processing) headsets that also have on-board positional sensing.

    I expect to be able to use this to view live volumetric feeds of sporting events like you are really there. Imagine being able to pick a location on a football field or NBA arena. Add on top of that the possibility of time shifting (DVR) capability. This is when you TRULY start getting a home experience that is better than being there.

  • metanurb

    Xiaomi banggoodtastic.

  • Oscar

    Is this supposed to be good quality? LOL? It looks like it’s been filmed
    with cellphone camera from 5 years ago ffs. Just looks at this mess: http://abload.de/img/8k_lol9ys1x.jpg (Crop from the 8K source from the Woman with Child + Dog)

    • Mr Whitenoise

      the question is, how many degrees is that crop wide ?

      • Oscar

        Well, here’s the uncropped original if it’s important: http://abload.de/img/uncroppedjzxxb.jpg

        Still very bad quality, nowhere near the quality of a regular 4K video, or 8K for the matter. As a comparison, here’s a 4K cap from an 8K video with the quality set to 4K:
        http://abload.de/img/uhdyukth.jpg

        Like all 360 videos, quality is uttersh*t.

      • Oscar

        You never got back to me Mr Whitenoise!?

  • Is anyone really in love with 360 video? It’s not VR, it’s more like using VR as a means to show something that’s never really found any other place on it’s own. 360 videos have always been gimmicky. The only interesting videos I’ve seen are computer generated. These articles keep pushing it as the future of VR productions, but I think it’s the distance past. It’s just a relic of 2D motion picture thinking. VR should be interactive, not another means of passive-viewer video production.

    • Mr Whitenoise

      360 imagery viewed in a vr headset is a part of VR… get over it. ;)