JAXA: Ricoh､small spherical camera joint development: used in outer space
August 28, 2019
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency / Ricoh Co., Ltd.
We jointly developed a small omnidirectional camera that can shoot 360 ° all directions at once in outer space (outside the spacecraft).
Small spherical camera:
Adopted in “SOLISS * 1”, a small satellite optical communication experiment device.
It is used as a monitor camera for 2-axis gimbal and operation check.
Future plans:
Space Station Replenisher “KOUNOTORI” No. 8 (scheduled to be launched on September 11, 2019) will be delivered to the ISS.
360 degree spherical images and videos will be shot and transmitted to the ground from the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo”, an outboard experiment platform.
This camera: “RICOH THETA” * 2
The world’s smallest 360 ° camera used in space.
This is the first time in Japan that a 360-degree camera performs spherical shooting outside a spacecraft.
JAXA and Ricoh:
In 2018, we signed a memorandum on mutual cooperation and jointly developed this camera.
The newly developed camera is based on the small omnidirectional camera “RICOH THETA” * 2 marketed by Ricoh.
Remodeling to withstand space environment such as space temperature and radiation.
Since 360 ° omnidirectional shooting is possible at the same time, you can obtain a lot of visual information while reducing the size and weight of the camera.