Gizmodo: 360-degree camera

Top 12 Failed Japanese Inventions

Mark Wilson — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 15:05:50 EST

Uebanet put together a collection of 12 Japanese inventions that "never quite took off". It's tough to pick a favorite from the list, but I do enjoy the Hair Blocker. While apparently designed to prevent females/hippies/80s rockers from getting hair in their noodles, it doubles as a intimidating lion mane or cheery sunshine hat.

Our other favorite?

The 360-degree camera. Why it requires a harmonica to operate the world will never know, but we strongly encourage hitting the link for 10 more gadgets that are also each considered our personal favorite. – Mark Wilson

Update: Try this link. [via gearfuse]

Panoptic Systems C-Thru 3D Video Surveillance System: Big Brother Watches You in 3D

Charlie White — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 11:56:58 EDT

An old Star Trek episode comes to life with the Panoptic Systems C-Thru 3D Video Surveillance System, a way for Big Brother to get a "god's-eye view" of everything going on inside a building or plane. Taking input from numerous 360-degree cameras placed throughout any location, the system combines all those images into one "auto-stereoscopic" display.

But wait, it gets better. The company has also implemented facial recognition software into the system, so it can not only keep track of where people are, but who they are, too. The surveillance system hasn't been implemented anywhere yet, but if this is actually practical and not just some pipe dream, let's just hope it's used for good rather than ill. – Charlie White

Product Page [Panoptic Systems, via Sci Fi Tech]

Soios 55-Cam 360 Surround Webcam

Charlie White — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 08:16:16 EDT

Japanese company Suekage Sangyo introduced Soios 55-Cam 360, a webcam that shoots 360-degree video and connects to a PC via FireWire. It gives you a choice of outputting full 360-degree surround video, 270 degrees or a single 4x3 frame. Since the lens is in the base of the camera pointing up at a 55mm hyperbolic mirror, it's possible to pan the shot across all 360 degrees, picking which direction that 4x3 video frame will be shot without having to physically move the lens.

The company previously introduced a camera like this for surveillance purposes, but this one has a puny 0.35-megapixel sensor, making us think that its video would be hardly usable for anything beyond webcam applications. But imagine the interesting possibilities if this thing had a high-definition sensor inside instead. No pricing or availability was announced. – Charlie White

SOIOS 360, the 360 degrees WebCam [Akihabara News]