Scottish firm launches world's first automatic rapid 360 degree camera
16 April 2012
Scotland based camera design and manufacturing company, NCTech, has launched the world's first fully automatic instant 360 degree panoramic camera. Unveiled at SPAR International 2012 in Texas, the iSTAR is designed to be integrated seamlessly into the Lidar scanning process. It is believed to be the first 360 degree camera with the power to process its images internally, with no need for a computer to complete post-production processing or stitching.
iSTAR produces instant 50 megapixel high resolution full spherical images to help accurately measure, document and visualise a location, building or terrain. Its image resolution far exceeds that of traditional cameras, and when superimposed onto point cloud data allows the viewer to clearly visualise the scene.
Operated by a touch screen on top of the camera, iSTAR can be controlled remotely via a tablet providing a real time view, more interaction and allowing the photographer not to be in shot. The iSTAR can also be linked live to a TV monitor or over the internet enabling offsite control and interactivity.
Invented by NCTech's co-founders, Neil Tocher and Cameron Ure, iSTAR is available in two models - Fusion and Pulsar - both of which capture the spherical environment - 360 degrees horizontally and 280 degrees vertically, including the zenith.
Pulsar offers extended capabilities over Fusion, including speed and time saving features to speed up productivity and provide even higher quality HDR (high dynamic range) images. It also offers a superior user interface with live full immersive view and introduces network connectivity and fast capture for video surveillance.
Fusion can be easily upgraded remotely to Pulsar.
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