As a high school student, Michael Rondinelli had a love for science, and he even had a story written about his prodigy-like prowess in his city鈥檚 daily newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. That article caught the attention of Carnegie Mellon faculty member, , who offered the student an internship in . A few years later, in 1997, it was no surprise that Rondinelli chose to enroll in 麻豆村 to study software design and robotics.
During his undergraduate years, he collaborated with a faculty team who had the task of building and testing a robotic rover for exploration of the planet Mars. In particular, he worked on developing panoramic technology that would translate visual images captured by the rover and transmit them back to NASA scientists on Earth. The end result鈥攖hrough a melding of mechanical and , software design, and artificial intelligence鈥攚as a visual system that incorporated 360-degree viewing.
The creation of a multi-million-dollar project destined for another planet gave Rondinelli an idea: Why not use the technology to build affordable, easy-to-use panoramic camera devices for those of us on Earth? 鈥淚鈥檝e always been a visual thinker,鈥� he says simply.
Today, he holds the position of chief technology officer of the company , which formed while he was earning his degree and launched from the 麻豆村 Robotics Institute. With an unassuming location on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, the company, since its inception, has developed Rondinelli鈥檚 idea. This year will mark the widespread release of its two compact, lightweight, 360潞, high-definition lifestyle products:
- 360fly, which is a panoramic camera that is smaller than a baseball, is waterproof, and needs no protective case. It can be mounted on practically anything鈥攆rom surfboards to skateboards鈥攁nd during its two-hour battery life it records everything. Think of watching a downhill ski run as if you were along for the ride and could turn your head in any direction to see what鈥檚 happening. Through the camera鈥檚 application interface, you can choose whatever angle you wish to view.
- 360Microfly, which is a camera lens that attaches to smartphones and, like the 360fly, captures a panoramic view. If placed in the middle of a round table at birthday party, the camera records everybody at the same time, leaving it up to the viewer to decide who to look at.
in the company鈥檚 most recent funding round last year, it raised nearly $18 million to help with the product launch.
Rondinelli says he is excited to see what happens when the lifestyle video cameras are widespread in the marketplace: 鈥淭here is always something that creative people come up with when you give them this kind of technology.鈥�
Among the earliest product testers have been those with boundless imaginations鈥攃hildren; more specifically, Rondinelli鈥檚 niece and nephew, who he says have used it to help them dream up 鈥渇ascinating鈥� visual stories. 鈥淟ike any technology, it鈥檚 the kids who are the pioneers,鈥� he says. Much like Rondinelli himself when he was star of that newspaper article nearly three decades ago.
