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Drones and virtual reality: A match made in heaven?
Thu, 12th May 2016
FYI, this story is more than a year old

These days, it's not uncommon to see people with what looks like bricks strapped to their heads, in apparent awe and wonder.

There is no doubt that virtual reality has a tremendous future, as new technologies emerge making the idea more accessible - it's not something of science fiction anymore.

This highlights the growing need for 3D content filmed in 360° for cinematography, tourism, advertising, viewing sports (and also for sports analysis by athletes and their staff), gaming, design, architecture, construction, real estate and many, many other industries.

In fact, a study by Goldman Sachs Research estimates that the VR and AR (virtual and augmented reality) market would reach a phenomenal value of $80 billion by 2025.

To meet the needs of this rapidly evolving market, many drone manufacturers are producing innovative products with high-end technology.

This includes Drone Volt. The R-D division of the French drone manufacturer has integrated the best of its technologies to develop the Janus 360. This drone can capture spectacular aerial images that can be used (after video processing) in virtual reality playback systems, goggles or helmet.

Essentially, it is a genuine flying camera that is dedicated to producing video content for virtual reality. This quadcopter, equipped with ten 4K cameras spread over 2 heads is for taking pictures and videos that once assembled and processed, provide an immersive 3D experience for virtual tours and videos 360°.

"The audiovisual market currently represents 80% of Drone Volt's customers,” says Dimitri Batsis, Drone Volt president. “We find it necessary to provide innovative and futuristic solutions to our customers, so we have developed Janus 360, the first drone dedicated to virtual reality; with 2 heads and with 5 cameras on each allowing a fantastic 360° result. One of the major strengths of our model is the ability to shoot in the air at 360 ° without any elements of the drone, such as propellers or landing gear appearing in the image."

It's certainly exciting times ahead for drone and VR enthusiasts.