Google introduces next-gen Jump VR camera

Tech giant Google has officially launched the next generation Jump camera — a product of its latest collaboration, with Chinese imaging company Yi Technology.

Dubbed “Yi Halo”, the virtual reality (VR) camera — which comprises 17 different Yi 4K cams — was unveiled at NAB in Las Vegas today (Monday, April 24), and is set to go on sale for approximately US$17,000 this summer, with some units already available to select creators.

While the camera itself is built by Yi — combining 16 spherically aligned 4K action cameras with an extra camera facing upwards — it incorporates the Jump cloud stitching infrastructure, which uses cloud-based software and smart stitching algorithms to produce stereoscopic 360-degree videos.

While Google originally launched Jump in 2015 to simplify VR video production, the “Yi Halo” only marks Google’s second Jump tie-up with a camera maker, following an initial collaboration with GoPro to launch the “GoPro Odyssey”

Watch the introductory trailer for “Yi Halo” here: https://youtu.be/FAtdv94yzp4