Project Beyond
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| Project Beyond | |
|---|---|
| |
| Basic Info | |
| Type | Camera |
| Subtype | Virtual Reality Camera |
| Creator | Think Tank Team, Samsung Research America[1] |
| Developer | Samsung |
| Announcement Date | 12 November 2014 |
| Release Date | Not commercially released[2] |
| Website | Project Beyond |
| Audio | |
| Camera | 16 full HD cameras in eight stereoscopic pairs around the edge, plus one top-facing camera[3] |
| Device | |
| Size | About 6 inches across (disc-shaped)[4] |
Project Beyond is a virtual reality camera developed by Samsung. Unveiled on November 12, 2014, Project Beyond is a stereoscopic 3D, 360 degree camera that captures 1 gigapixel of footage per second and streams the content to a Samsung Gear VR HMD. The camera is able to create a live 3D environment of its location for the wearer of the HMD.
The camera was built by the Think Tank Team, a research group at Samsung Research America, which described it as "the world's first true 3D omniview camera".[1] Samsung presented it during the opening keynote of its 2014 developer conference in San Francisco, alongside the Gear VR headset for the Galaxy Note 4.[5] The team said the device was "not a product" but a project still in development, and Samsung gave no price or release date.[6][7] The camera was never sold. In 2017 Samsung announced the 360 Round, a professional 3D 360-degree camera that Road to VR described as a reboot of the Project Beyond camera.[2]
Features
- 16 + 1 Cameras - 16 cameras are placed in pairs with even spacing of 45 degrees around a ring. The extra camera is placed on top.
- UHD 3D - ultra-high definition 3D images in every direction you look.
- 1 Gigapixel per second - captures and processes over 35 megapixels per frame.
- Connected to Gear VR, Samsung TVs, smartphones, tablets and computers.
- Stream Live - streams footage of any location the camera is placed in live.
- Simple and compact - the camera easily moved and placed in any environment.[8]
History
Announcement
Samsung held its 2014 Samsung Developer Conference from November 11 to 13, 2014, at Moscone West in San Francisco.[9] Pranav Mistry, vice president and head of the Think Tank Team, introduced Project Beyond on stage on November 12.[4][10] According to Computerworld, Mistry said the camera opened the door to "a new type of exploration" and called it a "real product", but did not give pricing or availability. A live stream of a beach sunset shown during the keynote was pixelated and jumpy before it cut out.[4]
Road to VR reported that the unit on display was not a prototype but a fully functional device with a high level of industrial design polish.[5] Samsung described it as "an operational version of the device, and just a taste of what the final system we are working with will be capable of."[11] The Think Tank Team said: "Once complete, we hope to take Beyond cameras around the world to beautiful and noteworthy locations and events, and allow you to experience those locations as if they were really there."[6]
Availability and content
TechCrunch reported that Samsung did not give a release date or price, and expected the camera would "likely come once we see a flagship or two actually launch with a headset sometime next year."[7] The project's FAQ page said the camera was "not quite ready to be shipped", that content captured with it would be released for Gear VR through Milk VR, and that Samsung would start working with partners. It also invited people to sign up for an early-access program.[1] DPReview reported at the time of the announcement that Samsung was taking a few working units to locations in the United States to record footage for Gear VR users.[3] In July 2015 Phandroid published images of the camera in black and white finishes, along with sample footage captured at Pigeon Point, and repeated that the Think Tank Team still regarded it as a project rather than a consumer product.[12]
Later versions
In February 2017, 360 Rumors, citing SamMobile, reported that Samsung showed a new version of the camera at Mobile World Congress 2017 with 18 lenses instead of 17, 4K 360-degree video and real-time 3D 360-degree stitching. No price or availability was given, and the site judged it to be aimed at broadcast use.[13]
At its developer conference in October 2017, Samsung announced the 360 Round, a camera with 17 lenses (eight horizontal stereo pairs and one vertical lens) that records and live streams 4K 3D video. Road to VR noted that Project Beyond had never been brought to market and described the 360 Round as a reboot of that camera.[2]
Hardware
Project Beyond is a disc-shaped camera. According to PetaPixel, each of its 16 side cameras has an ultra-wide-angle lens, the processor and storage sit beneath the cameras, and an image sensor and controller are placed within the camera arrangement.[14] The side cameras are arranged as eight stereoscopic pairs set 45 degrees apart, and the 17th camera points upward.[3] Road to VR noted that the upward camera covers the overhead view, often a weak point of other 360-degree capture rigs, and that the lenses appeared to be mounted at an angle, presumably to achieve the wide field of view that 360-degree video requires.[5] Road to VR reported an internal power source, which would likely let the camera run on its own away from mains power. The version demonstrated in 2014 did not record audio.[10]
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Cameras | 16 full HD cameras in eight stereoscopic pairs at 45-degree spacing, plus one top-facing camera[3] |
| Lenses | Ultra-wide-angle on each side camera[14] |
| Capture | Over 35 megapixels per frame; over one gigapixel per second[1] |
| Data rate | 25 gigabits per second[7][5] |
| Output | Stereoscopic 3D 360-degree video and 3D still panoramas, recorded or streamed live[3] |
| Size | About 6 inches across[4] |
| Audio | None in the 2014 demonstration unit[10] |
| Viewing devices | Samsung Gear VR; Samsung TVs, smartphones, tablets and computers[1] |
Software
Samsung said the system uses "patent-pending stereoscopic interleaved capture and 3D-aware stitching technology" to capture a scene in the way the human eye sees it, in a compact form factor.[15][6] The official site said the software knits the camera views together into an environment that can be experienced in real time.[1] A single live stream could be watched on several headsets at once, and footage could also be saved for later viewing.[4]
Reception
Reporters tried pre-recorded Project Beyond footage on Gear VR at the 2014 conference. Road to VR's Matthew Terndrup saw footage from Pescadero Beach, Pigeon Point Lighthouse, a San Francisco art museum and an indoor Halloween party. He found stationary subjects detailed but moving objects blurry in the compressed footage, and said the stitching between camera views was mostly good but occasionally visible near well-defined boundaries.[10] TechCrunch's Kyle Russell noticed a screen door effect in the beach scene, but found footage recorded inside a Samsung office "really impressive", with very little lag and "an incredible sense of space".[7]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Project Beyond - Think Tank Team - Samsung Research America". Think Tank Team. Samsung Research America. https://web.archive.org/web/20151218034959/http://www.thinktankteam.info/beyond/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Leslee Everett (2017-10-28). "Samsung Introduces Pro-focused '360 Round' Camera for 4K 3D Livestreaming". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/samsung-introduces-pro-focused-360-round-camera-for-4k-3d-livestreaming/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Lars Rehm (2014-11-13). "Samsung developing 360-degree panoramic 3D camera for VR headsets". DPReview. https://www.dpreview.com/articles/4027931864/samsung-developing-360-degree-panoramic-camera-for-vr-headsets/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 James Niccolai (2014-11-12). "Samsung's Project Beyond 3D camera takes virtual reality to a new level". Computerworld. https://www.computerworld.com/article/1614179/samsungs-project-beyond-3d-camera-takes-virtual-reality-to-a-new-level.html. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Paul James (2014-11-12). "SDC 2014: Samsung Announces 'Project Beyond' A 3D 360 Camera for VR". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/sdc-2014-samsung-announces-project-beyond-3d-360-camera-vr-breaking/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Neil Hughes (2014-11-12). "Samsung unveils 'Project Beyond,' a new 360-degree camera for recording virtual reality content". AppleInsider. https://appleinsider.com/articles/14/11/12/samsung-unveils-project-beyond-a-new-360-degree-camera-for-recording-virtual-reality-content. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Kyle Russell (2014-11-12). "Samsung Announces "Project Beyond," A Camera For Capturing Footage For Virtual Reality". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2014/11/12/samsung-announces-project-beyond-a-camera-for-capturing-footage-for-virtual-reality. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ http://thinktankteam.info/beyond/
- ↑ "Samsung Developer Conference 2014: Innovations for Improving Consumer Lifestyles Unveiled". Samsung Global Newsroom. Samsung Electronics. 2014-11-13. https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-developer-conference-2014-innovations-for-improving-consumer-lifestylels-unveiled. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Matthew Terndrup (2014-11-13). "First Impressions of Project Beyond, Samsung's 360 3D Camera for VR". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/first-impressions-project-beyond-samsungs-360-3d-camera-vr/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ Kim Lachance Shandrow (2014-11-12). "Virtual Reality Meets DIY With Samsung's Project Beyond". Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/science-technology/virtual-reality-meets-diy-with-samsungs-project-beyond/239717. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ Quentyn Kennemer (2015-07-08). "Samsung Project Beyond: 16 Cameras capturing 360 Degrees in 3D [GALLERY"]. Phandroid. https://phandroid.com/2015/07/08/samsung-project-beyond-gallery/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ Mic Ty (2017-02-27). "MWC 2017: Samsung shows new version of its Project Beyond 3D 360 camera". 360 Rumors. https://360rumors.com/mwc-2017-samsung-shows-new-version-of/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Gannon Burgett (2014-11-12). "Samsung's 'Project Beyond' Camera Captures True 3D in 360-Degrees for Amazing Virtual Reality". PetaPixel. https://petapixel.com/2014/11/12/samsung-shows-project-beyond-360o-camera-captures-everything-true-3d-better-virtual-reality/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ Tim Spears (2014-11-13). "samsung project beyond camera teleports gear VR wearer around world". designboom. https://www.designboom.com/technology/samsung-project-beyond-camera-gear-vr-11-13-2014/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.