Throwable camera ball takes stellar panoramic images

Who hasn’t seen an amazing photo, like the one below, and wanted to be able to do it for themselves? It can now be possible using one of the most clever gizmos we’ve seen in some time: the “throwable panoramic camera”. Developed by the Computer Graphics Group in Berlin, it allows a user to take 36o degree pictures just by tossing it in the air.

How it works is simple, inside the ball are 36 mobile phone cameras, all set to go off at precisely the same time when the ball senses that it is at the height of a toss.  As it detects that it is starting to fall (using an accelerometer), it fires all of it’s cameras, putting image data to storage. Then, using a custom application, users can put together some pretty stunning images.  Check out this one of a beautiful mountain scene:

The idea is an awesome one for sure, almost like a portable Google Streetview cam for specific applications. Imagine being at a concert or sporting event with a large group of people that you want to capture, a user could get some pretty cool images that way!

This green beauty is an awesome little invention that has every geek in the world is asking, “How much and where can I get it?” Right now, the answer is nowhere since it is in development, but something this cool is bound to picked up by a manufacturer somewhere.  There is no word on how the ball handles being dropped from height, nor what the storage capacity is, but with the padding that it comes with,  assume can take some light abuse.

Photogs out there will recognize how much easier this invention would make creating panoramic shots.  Right now, a photographer would have to move a camera into many different locations, wasting precious time and effort. Being able to take one in seconds instead of hours has obvious advantages!

Check out the official video below: