Kandao Releases 360-Degree Video Conferencing Camera Featuring Facial Recognition

The Chinese imaging specialist Kandao has released a 360-degree video conferencing camera designed to improve remote collaboration. The 8K camera has been dubbed the Kandao Meeting, and the camera combines two fisheye lenses and an eight-microphone array and speaker setup on a single USB device.

The Kandao Meeting can capture a view of the entire room, and uses facial recognition and the eight microphones to automatically identify and focus on individual speakers. Doing so allows remote participants to feel as if they are present in the room, providing a 1080P HD stream that negates the need to move a camera around as the conversation shifts.

“360° technology innovates different industries with a solution that can bring people closer, even though they’re far apart,” said Kandao Co-Founder and CEO Chen Dan. “Companies need to remotely collaborate in a more engaging way, with the help of 360° and AI technology.”

The pop-up camera can be pressed back into its casing to turn it off once the meeting is over. It was designed to be a plug-and-play solution, and is compatible with Skype, Zoom, and other video conferencing platforms through a standard USB connection. It also supports three different conference modes, including a full 360-degree view that does not auto-focus.

The Kandao Meeting will retail for $659 and will be available through Amazon in September. It is one of several streaming tools designed to make remote work feel more professional and more immediate. For instance, Microsoft has introduced a blur feature that obscures unsightly backgrounds, while HID Global is using Augmented Reality to provide remote workers with virtual instructions.