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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAtdv94yzp4 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. 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. 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' >> Seamless Stitching The Yi Halo would be similar to other 360 camera arrays out there today, except that it's specially designed for the Jump Assembler. The Assembler is Google's cloud-based automated stitching process which turns the footage from the Halo's 17 cameras into 3D 360 output which has impressive seamless stitching. [caption id="attachment_62290" align="alignright" width="325"] An upward-facing camera is housed in the center of the camera | Photo by Road to VR[/caption] “The camera combined with the stitching algorithm is the best 360 video solution in the industry," said Jay Spangler, Executive VR Producer for Two Bit Circus. With 360 cameras, the videos from each individual view needs to be merged together to create the spherical view. Often times this is done manually, with someone tweaking alignments by hand. It's a tedious process which often reveals the seams between cameras (where one camera view merges into another) which causes distortions in the final video output that can be visually jarring and downright immersion breaking. Google's Jump Assembler not only automates the stitching process—which 360 content creators say saves a ton of time and money—but it does so with the most seamless output I've seen from any stitching process. As subjects walk near to the camera (and thus pass through many of the camera's individual views in quick succession), which is perhaps the most challenging moment for most stitching processes, you'll be hard pressed to see where one camera view ends and the next picks up. As importantly (if not more so), the Jump Assembler spits out 3D 360 video which is critical for immersion when viewing 360 video in a VR headset. This is not a trivial feat. Creating good-looking 360 stereo video is not easy, not to mention when you're dealing with overlapping frame stitching that you hope to remain seamless. Google has pulled this off in a very impressive way with the Assembler and says that stitched footage can be returned "within hours," saving creators a ton of time in the process, thereby putting 3D capture within arm's reach of a greater number of productions. Positioning vs. Volumetric VR Cameras [caption id="attachment_61840" align="alignright" width="325"] Lytro's huge Immerge camera is impressively capable, but isn't particularly portable compared to the Yi Halo | Photo by Road to VR[/caption] That's all well and good, but how does the Yi Halo fit in with volumetric video cameras (which can capture much more immersive VR footage) like the Lytro Immerge and Facebook's newly announced X24? Google says that the Yi Halo is of a different production class; whereas the Immerge and X24, the company says, are high-end devices made for high-end productions with lots of post-production and VFX work, the Halo is meant for mid-range productions where a creator needs a portable and reliable camera that's simple operate, and outputs footage that fits within their existing toolset. The difference, the company alluded, is like shooting against a green screen with a high-end cinema camera vs. a more rugged and portable camera that you'd take on-site. That said, Google could potentially get into the volumetric capture game. The Jump Assembler is already capable of producing depth-maps (one important piece of volumetric capture), though they aren't presently returning volumetric video entirely. We inquired about volumetric capture but the company was tight-lipped on what it might do in the future. A Leap, In Some Aspects Thanks to its reliability, cohesive components, portability, and broad operating specs, the Yi Halo may represent a big step forward as far as the content creator is concerned. But when it comes to the end user, the Halo is just like a lot of other 360 cameras we've seen: there's still a long way to go in visual quality. You can see output from the Halo, crunched with the Assembler, right here (to watch in VR, see the instructions in this article). Having watched this played back through a Daydream headset on a Pixel phone, to my eyes there's a major lack of dynamic range on the low end, resulting in dark colors being very hard to discern from one another. Without a side-by-side test, the quality of the image doesn't feel sharper than some of the better 3D 360 footage that we've seen before, though the seamless stitching is a big improvement over a lot of other 360 content out there. - - — - - The Yi Halo appears to be exactly what 360 video creators need: an affordable, reliable, cohesive 360 camera system that makes capturing high-quality 3D 360 video easier than ever before. With automated and seamless stitching, the Halo is poised to allow creators to better focus on what's being filmed, not the intricacies of how it's being filmed. The Yi Halo begins limited availability today (check out the website for more info) and will go on sale more broadly this summer.