Palo Alto, CA—YI Technology, an international provider of intelligent imaging technologies, unveiled YI Halo, a next-generation virtual reality (VR), 3D camera built with Google’s Jump technology.
YI Halo is designed for professional VR creators and filmmakers. It combines advanced capture technology and stitching to enable pros to create immersive VR stories. Halo is powered by 18 Ambarella A9SE75 chipset processors and 17 Sony Exmor R 12 megapixel CMOS image sensors. It integrates a 2.2-inch touch LCD screen and f/2.8, 155º wide-angle lenses.
YI Halo is a high fidelity, 360º capture solution engineered for maximum stereo effect, fidelity and immersion. It consists of 17 camera units, including the Jump platform’s up-view camera unit. This allows users to experience a scene in every direction. The YI Halo’s mechanical structure, hardware, firmware, software and optics are designed to yield a product that generates 8Kx8K, 360º stereoscopic VR video at 30 frames per second, or 5.8Kx5.8K, 360º stereoscopic VR video at 60 fps.
“Virtual reality provides incredible new opportunities for creators,” said Sean Da, CEO of YI Technology, “but it also poses a whole new level of challenges. To truly meet the promise of VR, the image quality, capture and stitching needs to match the immersive experience. To be truly active, you have to be able to shoot when and however you want, from many points of view, and without worrying about losing power. And you have to know it will just work, in your control, now and in the future. That is why we spent so many personal hours researching, perfecting and stress-testing the YI Halo.”
“We announced Jump in 2015 to make high-quality VR video easier to create; streamlining capture, postproduction and playback processes,” added Amit Singh, vice 
president of Business for Google VR. “Since then, Jump has helped produce immersive, compelling work. We’re excited to see what’s possible using YI’s next-generation cameras.”
Additional YI Halo Specs
Halo has a 100-minute battery life, pulling only 50 watts, but it also works with AC and alternative power sources. With a microSD card slot, it weighs 7.5 pounds, including the battery, for portability. Furthermore, with a built-in handle, 1/4″ and 3/8″ tripod sockets, the device can be mounted to most tripods and camera support systems. Halo comes with 5 GHz Wi-Fi remote controls that work with an Android app to provide previewing and automated Jump stitching.
Tested to be durable and future-proof, Halo underwent more than 100,000 hours of stress tests. In addition, it features a thermal design and a built-in screen system for control of camera settings and functions. The modular camera rig is also upgradable; new components can be added as they become available.
YI Technology covers Halo with a customer support package as well as one-click firmware upgrades based on direct user feedback. Halo comes in a rugged, custom Pelican 1610 case. It will ship late summer. Pricing to be announced. yitechnology.com
