[Mark Mullins] is working on a project called Quamera: a cam that takes video in every direction simultaneously, creating realtime 3D environments on the fly.
[Mark] is using 26 Arducams, organizing them in a rhombicuboctahedron configuration, which consists of three rings of 8 cameras with each sound managed by a Beaglebone; the top and bottom rings are angled at 45 degrees, while the center sound looks directly out. The top and bottom cameras are managed by a fourth Beaglebone, which also serves to communicate with the Nvidia Jetson TX1 that runs everything. Together, these cameras can see in all directions at once, with enough overlap for supply a seamless display for viewers.
In the image to the right, [Mark] is testing out his software for getting the various cameras to work together. The banks of circles and the dots and lines linking to them represent the computer’s best guess on how to perfectly merge the images.
If you want to check out the project in person, [Mark] will be showing off the Quamera at the Dover tiny maker Faire this August. In the meantime, to learn a lot more about the Jetson check out our thorough introduction of the board.