Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) announced on Thursday the price of its spherical OZO camera they presented last summer. OZO is the world’s first professional Virtual Reality camera and it will cost $60,000. Several companies like Facebook, Sony, Google, and Samsung have also invested in virtual reality (VR).
The giant from Finland joined the excitement of people and technological companies that are developing new creative and interactive gadgets in this immersive world that appears to belong to the future. Last summer, more than 27 exhibitors revealed plans for virtual reality products.
According to VR Site, UK, Virtual Reality is the term used to describe a three-dimensional, computer-generated environment which can be explored and interacted by a person. That person becomes part of this virtual world within its environment and is also able to manipulate objects or perform a series of actions.
The OZO camera will be able to record stereoscopic 3D video and spatial audio through eight synchronized global shutter sensors and eight integrated microphones, Nokia reported. Also, the content created with the OZO can be published to VR hardware such as the Oculus Rift.
“OZO aims to advance the next wave of innovation in VR by putting powerful tools in the hands of professionals who will create amazing experiences for people around the world,” Ramzi Haidamus, president of Nokia Technologies, said in a statement.
Later this year, GoPro, in a partnership with Google, also entered in the VR world as they announced a camera capable of recording spherical content. The Odyssey is provided with six Hero4 cameras which are capable of capturing HD images and videos from various angles. Creations can be seen from several VR headsets like the Google Cardboard, Microsoft’s HoloLens and the Oculus Rift.
OZO will differentiate itself by providing filmmakers the possibility of live monitoring, which is a fundamental requirement from directors and cinematographers as they would be able to see what they are shooting on a monitor while on set. The camera also features what Nokia calls “dynamic rendering,” which will allow filmmakers to use VR headsets and look around the 360-degree field of view captured by OZO in real time.
It is believed that Virtual Reality prices should decrease as the technology will have more developers and users creating and consuming contents each year. Both cameras appear to be expensive since the Odyssey costs $15,000 and the OZO reaches the $60,000. However, Haidamus said they were going to make OZO available for rent at rental houses.
The company is already making collaborations with National Geographic and NASA. They believe virtual reality has a big potential in education and industrial markets. Haidamus said OZO is just part of a much larger VR camera plan as they expect it to be an ideal solution for documentarians and journalists.
“We expect that virtual reality experiences will soon radically enhance the way people communicate and connect to stories, entertainment, world events and each other. With Ozo, we plan to be at the heart of this new world,” Haidamus said.
Source: Nokia