Kaidan and EyeSee360 Announce One-Shot Panoramic Photographic VR Solution
Kaidan™ and EyeSee360™ announce an affordable and easy-to-use one-shot Photographic VR solution: 360 One™
MACWORLD EXPO, SAN FRANCISCO, CA — January 8, 2002: Kaidan Incorporated and EyeSee360 Inc. today announced the 360 One™, an optical system that captures a complete 360° panoramic image in a single camera shot. Kaidan is the leading manufacturer and supplier of Photographic VR solutions and EyeSee360 is a leading developer of immersive, interactive imaging technology.
Two years of extensive research by EyeSee360 have produced innovative optical and software technology that delivers unrivaled quality and simplicity. Through partnership with Kaidan, this technology has been formed into a product ideally suited to the needs of the panoramic photographer.
The 360 One consists of a lightweight and rugged proprietary optical system and the innovative EyeSee360 PhotoWarp™ software. The unique EyeSee360 optic provides a complete 360° horizontal panorama with a 100° vertical field-of-view (50° above and 50° below the horizon). This vertical field-of-view is substantially greater than competitive offerings and brings single-shot panoramic technology into the mainstream. With the 360 One, single-shot panoramas can be used for interior real estate shots and other situations where it is important to look up and down as well as side-to-side.
When coupled with a 3 megapixel or greater camera, the 360 One offers an exceptional and unparalleled level of quality that rivals current solutions requiring 12 or more stitched images. Since the 360 One requires only a single shot to capture the full 360° view, action scenes with moving objects are easily photographed. The 360 One can capture panoramic images in crowd scenes, at concerts, on city streets, at sporting events, or even from moving vehicles. Photographers avoid the stitching or seaming demanded by competitive multiple-shot systems (such as the two and three-shot iPIX® system), eliminating the problems of visible seams or exposure differences across the panorama.
EyeSee360’s PhotoWarp™ software quickly and easily processes a 360 One photograph into a viewable panoramic image. The straightforward, simple-to-use interface enhances workflow by automatically generating web pages and thumbnail images along with QuickTime VR® panoramic images, the industry-leading panoramic image format. PhotoWarp can also produce images suitable for Java-based viewers. There are also no per-image or “click fees” imposed on the user. PhotoWarp was designed for the Apple® Mac OS X® platform and supports the Mac OS 9, Microsoft Windows® 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating systems.
The 360 One, which requires no special technical expertise, can be hand-held or mounted on a convenient monopod using a remote shutter release and a bubble level. Initially the 360 One will support the Nikon Coolpix® line of cameras including the 990, 995 and 5000. Support for a wide range of film and other digital cameras will be announced in the coming months.
According to Joan Rankin, Assistant Sales and Marketing Director for Kaidan, “The 360 One is ideal for a wide array of vertical markets: real estate, surveillance, travel, tourism and education. EyeSee360 and Kaidan have eliminated the barriers that previously limited single-shot panoramas. With a single click and a single image you quickly and effortlessly capture the complete panoramic view. You could easily produce a hundred or more panoramas in an afternoon.”
Michael Rondinelli, V.P. of Technology for EyeSee360, adds, “360 One is a best-of-breed device. Now, taking 360° panoramic pictures from inside a crowd, on a racetrack, or at the scene of news in the making is as simple as a single click. For the first time, a single-shot panorama requires no compromises in quality or field-of-view, and no recurring fees. This is clearly a new standard in interactive panoramic imaging.”
Scheduled to ship in early 2002, the 360 One is priced at $999.95. The 360 One will be available from Kaidan and from all authorized Kaidan resellers and distributors worldwide. Optional accessories including monopods and hardware carrying cases will also be available from Kaidan.
About Kaidan Incorporated
Kaidan Incorporated is the world’s leading manufacturer and supplier of Photographic VR solutions for the Internet. Kaidan has active alliances with many digital imaging companies, such as Nikon, Kodak, Apple Computer, Inc., and supports a variety of immersive imaging development efforts. Kaidan has resellers and distributors worldwide. Kaidan, founded in 1994, is headquartered in Feasterville, Pennsylvania. For more information, please contact Salvatore DiPaolo, Director of Sales and Marketing (dip@kaidan.com) at (215) 364-1778 or visit the company at http://www.kaidan.com
About EyeSee 360 Inc.
EyeSee360 is the technology leader in single-shot panoramic imaging for both still and video photography. EyeSee360 has applied decades of research in robotic vision, image rendering, and software interface expertise to the challenge of creating interactive panoramic still images and videos. EyeSee360, Inc. (formerly Telemersion, LLC) was founded in 1998 as an offshoot of Carnegie Mellon University, and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA. For more information, please contact Michael Rondinelli, V.P. of Technology (mjr@EyeSee360.com) or visit http://www.eyesee360.com
Kaidan is a trademark of Kaidan Incorporated. EyeSee360 and PhotoWarp are trademarks of EyeSee360 Inc. 360 One is a trademark of EyeSee360 and Kaidan Incorporated. QuickTime and Mac OS X are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Coolpix is a registered trademark of Nikon, Inc. iPIX is a registered trademark of Internet Pictures Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.