Video has always been one of Facebook’s strong points over its tenure as a social media giant. As a result it soon expanded to 360° videos, ditched Flash for HTML5 and debuted Facebook Live. Streaming is the new way of getting news quickly and without it being morphed by opinions before it reaches your ears and eyes. As a result the past decade has seen a surge when it comes to streaming platforms, apps and softwares. One would of course know of Twitch, the biggest streaming platform out there, but relegated only to gaming streams. YouTube was quick to get in the video streaming business and launched live streaming on YouTube. Another such platform would be Periscope, which was acquired by Twitter in January 2015. Last to the scene was Facebook, who launched Live via their mentions app to the rich and famous, before going on to let everyone have the ability to go “Live”.
But Live, like other streaming platforms, still had its hindrances. Users were relegated to using smartphones to stream from which affected the stream quality as it naturally depended on the smartphones’ cameras and connection speed. However, yesterday night at the F8 conference, an important new way to stream through Live was announced; through drones.
An API for the feature has been released to developers, letting them build Facebook Live straight in their apps, meaning you wouldn’t have to open Facebook to livestream in the near future. To demonstrate it, Facebook struck a partnership with DJI, the drone maker, and a drone flew on stage, streaming its encounter with Mark Zuckerberg for the audience to see. Previously DJI drone operators could only stream to Youtube and the Chinese equivalent Youku but now a third option has availed itself, one that has over a billion monthly visitors.
But livestreaming through drones isn’t the only video related news from Facebook. The company also launched a surreal, futuristic looking 360° camera rig. Facebook Surround 360 uses a 17-camera array and accompanying web-based software to capture images in 360 degrees and render them automatically. Facebook says it solves problems to various technical issues far better than anything available commercially. The rig includes a whopping 14 wide-angle cameras bolted onto the flying saucer as well as a fish-eye camera on top and two more on the bottom, allowing the device to capture its surroundings without showing the pole holding up the camera.
A problem they found while initially designing the device was overheating but Facebook confidently states that it can now work for many hours without overheating and exports video in 8k resolution. It can be viewed on Gear VR, Oculus, and inside the Facebook app, among other places. The only downfall is the cost: you’d need around $30,000 to buy the materials necessary to build a Surround 360, Facebook says
