Have you ever wished that you could take professional-looking 360° panoramic photos like the ones you see in Google Street View, and that too without any hassle or expensive equipment? Well, it could become a reality soon if the funding goal for Panono, a ball-shaped compound-camera device, could be met within the prescribed time.
THE IDEA
Regardless of all the intricacy concealed beneath that 4.3-inch ball of awesome, the underlying idea behind the creation of Panono is pretty simple–it uses an array of 36 cameras mounted on, well, a small ball to take pictures at the same time and stitches them together into a mesmerizing 360° x 360° panorama.
Jonas Pfeil, the founder of Panono camera, first thought up the idea of 360° photo-shooting device during the course of his Masters degree in Computer Engineering. His idea received positive feedback from the peers, so he decided to invest in it and built the first prototype device for his Masters thesis. Starting from these humble beginnings, Panono gained worldwide acclaim after the idea was pitched at local and international conferences and technological gatherings.
THE EXECUTION
Panono has 36 fixed-focus cameras mounted on a small but sturdy orb of 4.33 inches (or 11 cm) diameter. The product will be optimized for use in three cases: by throwing it in the air; by attaching or placing it on some pole/stick-type structure/smooth surface; or simply by holding it in hands and triggering the cameras from the mobile app interface.
Panono has a built-in accelerometer to keep track of the acceleration of the ball. When the camera is thrown in the air, it stops for a fraction of a second in air at the highest point. That’s when the accelerometer comes into play and all 36 cameras are fired at-once to take pictures. The resulting panoramic image can be previewed instantly on the paired Android or iOS device, thanks to the wireless connectivity built right in the Panono. The wireless connectivity options are Bluetooth and WiFi, while a microUSB port is also available for charging the on-board battery of Panono. Users can also use Panono’s Cloud services to upload the images for back-up and high-resolution stitching. From there, panoramic image can be downloaded or viewed on PC and shared on social-networking websites.
The cameras of Panono have been optimized in favour of shooting high-resolution images, hence videography is not possible at this point, but it might be added in the later stages of production. A single panorama has an equivalent of 72 megapixels of data and details, and can be zoomed in as well. Here are some samples:
Panono promises to solve two of the major panorama-shooting problems. First, the current panorama-shooting techniques involve the user holding a device and revolving it around him/her. Extreme care is needed in such cases or the images turn out to be blurry or poorly stitched. Panono offers a simple solution for this problem by eliminating the need to revolve with the device held high in hands. Just throw the Panono in the air–all done. Secondly, using contemporary techniques, one key aspect that is missing from the panoramas are the photographers themselves. Panono puts the photographer back in–or should we say, right under–the picture.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Here’s a summary of all the technical details:
- Size (diameter) of the orb: 4.33 inches / 11 centimetres
- Weight: 300 grams (0.66 pounds)
- Sturdy build-quality with shock- and water-proof plastic body
- 36 fixed-focus cameras
- Flash memory for storing up to 400 panoramas
- On-board battery; rechargeable via microUSB port
- Pairing via mobile app; supported on iOS 6+ and Android OS v4+ devices
- Bluetooth or WiFi connectivity for moving images to mobile devices
The Design Model (left) and original prototype (right) of Panono (image courtesy: Gizmodo)
The Design Model of Panono camera is not yet fully functional, and is meant for demonstration purposes. The original prototype has been used so far to take the panoramic pictures and performing the tests. Design Model, however, is the one which will be finalized and shipped to the funders, provided the funding meets its goal.
The Design Model of Panono in Black and Green (image courtesy: Mashable)
RECEPTION
The initial reception of Panono has been generally positive. Leading tech-blogs and journalists have praised the idea and count Panono among today’s remarkable innovative ideas. The product has received a broad media attention ever since it was first introduced by the founder, Jonas Pfeil, at SIGGRAPH Asia in 2011. This is the reason that the product managed to raise over $0.2 million in just 3 days.
An early prototype of Panono in action (image courtesy: CNET)
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
The Panono project is currently in the phase of Crowd-funding at Indiegogo. A goal of $900,000 has been set by the Panono team which must be reached by January 4th, 2014. Funding started on November 12th and thus far, a total of $346,301 has been raised (which is approximately 39% of the original goal). With 47 days left for the remaining funds to be raised, the chances that Panono will be able to see the light of the day look quite promising, provided the money keeps coming in at the same pace.
There are a number of perks available for the funders and early adopters. People can contribute to the project even if they do not want a Panono right away as well. Pricing options for the funders have been set as follows:
- Exclusive price for first 600 funders: $499 apiece (all slots claimed already)
- Regular price for one Panono: $549 apiece
Production will start immediately if the funding goal is met by the deadline and the finished product will start shipping worldwide by the third quarter of 2014.
AMIDST THE PANONO-FEVER, A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR UBUNTU EDGE
Could Panono’s funding prove to be a failure? Yes, there’s a fair chance that this could happen. We’ve seen it happen in the past, and Ubuntu Edge is a recent example of that. Edge went up for Crowdfunding on the same service (Indiegogo) in July 2013. Albeit it managed to raise over a million dollars in just one hour, that was not enough to turn it into a reality–in fact, it was far from enough. The project was only able to raise 40% of the projected $32 million goal. Edge may have failed because of a very high goal or, as some analysts noted, an unclear market strategy, but there’s no denying the fact that with the technological advancements in today’s world, interest for gadgets like Panono is on the rise worldwide.
Panono offers something new in the field of amateur photography but is the price tag of $549 justifiable for the features it offers, that is the real question–and the success of this project hangs in the balance mainly because of this very question. What the answer could be, we’ll have to wait and see for ourselves–as there’s only a period of 47 days between today and the finding out the answer!
Buzz 'n Blare 