New Bell Star Helmet Unveiled With Built-In 360-Degree Camera
BRG Sports, parent company to Bell helmets, and 360fly, manufacturers of single-lens 360-degree action cameras, unveiled a full line of what they term “smart” helmets for the motorcycle, mountain bike and snow markets this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. We first reported about this partnership in December, but images of the final products weren’t available at the time.
While we’re focusing on the new Bell Star road motorcycle helmet, all four helmets feature 360fly’s 360-degree, 4K camera built into the dome of the helmet, which is also capable of shooting conventional 16×9 video. The user can then edit and share content to their social media channels via 360fly’s proprietary mobile app. Among the camera’s features is a built-in GPS to tag locations, a barometer/altimeter and an accelerometer. The camera also comes standard with Bluetooth, built-in Wi-Fi and two hours of battery life. In addition, the camera is also detachable from the helmet, able to be used off the motorcycle as well.
In addition to these technologies, several new technologies are in development with plans for inclusion. According to the BRG/360fly press release, these include:
- AutoPilot action tracking – Allows users to track and follow the main subjects in their videos, making it easy to create dynamic edits with the rider at the center of it all.
- Collision Avoidance Alert – Senses and automatically notifies the rider of potential oncoming dangers that are outside the rider’s natural field of vision.
- Live Streaming — For professional, commercial or advanced users looking to live stream 360-degree video, the integrated camera pairs with its Micro-HDMI accessory base (sold separately) and is able to output a real-time full 360-degree HD video stream.
See the full 360fly press release below for more information about the camera and its capabilities.
360fly, Inc., maker of the world’s only, single-lens camera that captures stitchless 360-degree video with interactive and virtual reality viewing capabilities, today unveiled the next generation of its popular 360fly camera. The 360fly 4K is a water resistant single-lens, 360-degree video camera with live streaming capabilities and intuitive filming and editing advancements. It will be on display at the 2016 Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas in booth 10417 Central Hall.
360fly 4K adds a powerful new image sensor that quadruples the resolution of the first generation 360fly camera producing 2880×2880, 360-degree 4K quality. Additionally, 360fly 4K will offer the following upgraded and advanced features:
- Front-Facing Mode: Not all situations require a 360-degree field of view. During those times, 360fly 4K will allow users to record in a 16:9 aspect ratio at 2560×1440 resolution with a field of view of 178×100 degrees (204 diagonal).
- Time-Lapse Video Mode: Tell a story in a dramatic fashion by capturing a 360- degree time-lapse video. Users can select 1, 2, 5, 10, 30 or 60-second shutter intervals.
- Motion and Audio Detection Mode: 360fly 4K will automatically begin to record based off any movement or sounds. This feature is great in surveillance or monitoring situations.
- Accelerometer Activated Record Mode: Not all environments are smartphone friendly, and in those situations 360fly 4K users can activate record mode with a shake of the camera. For instance, a skier without their smartphone may have difficulties pushing the OnePush button with their snow gloves on, so a simple shake of the camera will begin recording.
- Telemetry: 360fly 4K features a built-in GPS sensor to tag locations, a barometer/altimeter and accelerometer all powered by an advanced Qualcomm® Snapdragon 800 processor. Users can now track altitude, speed and edit this data as an overlay into their 360-degree video content.
- OnePush Button Color-Coding: For clearer visibility and mode recognition, 360fly 4K features an enhanced design with additional color-coded lighting around the OnePush button and bottom of the mounting dock.“Based off feedback from current 360fly users and 360fly brand ambassadors, the 360fly 4K camera represents the next evolution of features, like 4K video and live streaming,” said Peter Adderton, 360fly CEO. “ With the addition of the 360fly 4K camera to the product range we expect to reach new markets and users. The evolution continues as we set our sights on new products and innovations, designed to democratize virtual reality content for the masses.”
The majority of VR devices on the market today are purely focused on consumption of VR content and not creation. From day one, 360fly’s mission has been to put the power to create immersive personal VR content into the hands of consumers. This is enabled by 360fly’s proprietary single-lens, stitchless video technology, but also by its iOS and Android mobile app. Through the 360fly mobile app, users can easily shoot, edit and share content. There simply is no other comparable option for creating and consuming 360-degree immersive video and personal VR content on the market today.
For professional, commercial or advanced users looking to live stream 360-degree video, 360fly 4K pairs with its Micro-HDMI accessory base (sold separately) and is able to output a real-time full 360-degree HD video stream – providing a truly differentiated live viewing experience.
Like the original 360fly camera, 360fly 4K comes standard with Bluetooth, built-in Wi-Fi and has up two hours of battery life. Also carrying over is the camera’s ability to conveniently share video content direct from the 360fly mobile app to popular social platforms like Facebook and YouTube.
360fly 4K Specs
Durability
- Shock resistant up to 1.5m
- Meets IP6X requirements for underwater submersion down to 3 ATM (90 feet)
Image Quality
- Up to 2880 x 2880 4K HD video resolution
- Up to 30fps
Advanced Processor
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor featuring up to 2.3 GHz quad-core CPU
Viewing Angle
- 360º, >240º FOV, Fixed f/2.5 aperture
Memory
- Internal 32GB
Wireless Connectivity
- Supports 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- BT 4.0 and BT 3.0
Connectors
- Compatible with accessories made for GoPro mounts
Application Compatibility
- Android 4.3 or higher
- iPhone iOS 7 or higher
- PC Software – 10.8/ or later Windows 7
- Mac OS X
To learn more about 360fly, visit www.360fly.com. Pricing for the helmets has not been released yet, but the 360fly 4k camera will launch with an MSRP of $499, while the current 360fly is available at Best Buy stores for $399.
Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.
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