Nokia to target content creators with Ozo VR camera launch
Nokia is counting down to the days of when its Ozo virtual reality (VR) camera will be launched, claiming it has been designed and built for professional content creators to capture, edit, and playback VR content.
Nokia said Ozo has been designed to capture stereoscopic 3D video through eight synchronised global shutter sensors and spatial audio through eight integrated microphones. It added that the filmed content would be publishable and viewable on VR hardware such as head mounted displays, and provide 360-degree imaging and sound.
At the same time, software built for Ozo will enable real-time 3D viewing and feature playback eliminating the need to pre-assemble a panoramic image, the company said.
In addition to this, Nokia has announced a partnership with Jaunt, which will see the VR production company offer the camera for use its studios and support content produced with Ozo through its post-production services.
Ozo will be the first digital media solution from Nokia Technologies, one of the three units the Finnish company kept -- alongside Here and Networks -- after selling its device manufacturing business to Microsoft.
Nokia Technologies president Ramzi Haidamus said Ozo has been designed in anticipation that VR will become a popular means in the way images and sounds are captured.
"We expect that virtual reality experiences will soon radically enhance the way people communicate and connect to stories, entertainment, world events and each other. With Ozo, we plan to be at the heart of this new world," he said.
Ozo is currently undergoing final testing and refinements in partnership with industry professionals, according to Nokia, but anticipates that shipments will begin in Q4 2015.
The company has repeatedly reaffirmed that it will not be returning to the handsets market. During an analyst meeting at the end of last year, Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri said at: "We are not looking to a direct consumer return to handsets per se", but added that the Nokia brand "will return to the consumer world" through licensing deals in the longer term.