PanaCast

The company «Altia» has already released its new project of a very interesting and at the same time extremely useful webcam. The new model is called the «PanaCast». It has a review of 200 degrees. Actual viewing angle is achieved by using several cameras placed at different angles. It should be borne in mind that a regular camera does not give such a review angle as the human eye, because in addition to the straight view, people have a view of peripheral vision, which allows capturing images of objects located to the sides. The new webcam PanaCast has this rare ability, in such a way allowing much more than a conventional webcam that is offered on the market.   

This new portable device is not a concept; it is freely available on the market. The new webcam will be a useful tool for video conferencing in online mode. Using this camera, the one who are leading the conference will be able to see all of the participants, as if he was present in the conference room. In addition, it will be a very convenient tool for communication via «Skype» for big companies. It happens that near the monitors there is a number of people on both sides, and thus the view angle of 200 degrees will allow you to see everyone.       

Given the dynamism of the modern world, it is no wonder that more and more meetings within companies and between them are held in video chats over the Internet. Facetime, Skype, Google Hangout - each organization chooses its own service. With them, however, there is one big problem: a limited view. When communicating one-on-one it doesn’t cause any discomfort, but with a large number of participants this seemingly minor thing can create lots of inconvenience and annoyance.

Now let’s look at the more technical side of this new product. The review angle of 200 degrees is provided by the combined images of the six chambers that are equipped with the small webcams, forming a picture with a resolution of 2700 x 540 pixels for its subsequent streaming at up to 60 frames per second (on the fast networks). At the main body of the device there are Ethernet ports and USB 2.0. It works under the control of the 2-core ARM processor and a customized video processor (MIVP).

Currently the PanaCast works on the only one platform of iOS, but the development works are also being held to tailor the new device for Android, Ubuntu Linux, OSX and Windows. The future of corporate teleconferencing right now costs 599 dollars, if bought from the official distributor. The price isn't democratic at all. But the possibility to give full 360-degree view can't be overestimated. If not for teleconference but for surveillance this camera can be very handful.

The focal range of the new device is ranging from 1 foot and up to almost infinity, as the focus of the webcams is fixed. Moreover, another great advantage of the device is its portability. The future of the online conferences has a height of 15 inches, and it is including the specially designed stand. The camera itself has a diameter of about 5,5 inches, and the base of the stand needs the space of about 13 inches in the diameter. Though the camera is capable of operation without any stand and has a flexible mount, allowing placing it on almost any surface.