NCTech and Top Gear USA capture the Rubicon Trail in 360 degrees

NCTech and Top Gear USA capture the Rubicon Trail in 360 degrees

 

iSTAR camera used to create immersive visual experience of challenging
off-road route on Google Maps

 

Los Angeles, CA & Edinburgh, UK - April 27, 2016 -
<http://nctechimaging.com>  NCTech, the developer of reality imaging
systems, today announced that its  <https://www.nctechimaging.com/istar/>
iSTAR panoramic camera has been used the Top Gear USA television show to
create the first ever virtual online experience of the infamous Rubicon
Trail, using high-resolution 360 degree imaging. The images are being
uploaded to Google Maps <https://goo.gl/hdO2Bx>  to provide a visual online
record of the Top Gear team's journey - a route that Google's Street View
cars could never access.

                                                                   

The Rubicon Trail is a 22-mile-long route, part road and part 4x4 trail,
located in the Sierra Nevada in California. It is viewed as one of the most
difficult off-road vehicle routes in the world, with an average driving
speed of 2 miles per hour during the trail section meaning that it takes
several days to complete.

 

Top Gear is an American motoring television series, based on the BBC series
of the same name. The show's presenters are professional racing driver
Tanner Foust, actor and comedian Adam Ferrara, and automotive and racing
analyst Rutledge Wood. The Rubicon Trail feature was part of Top Gear's new
season premiere, which aired on April 26.

 

"The Rubicon Trail is one of the toughest and most well-known 4x4 routes in
the world and based on our research, no one has ever captured it in 360
degrees," said Patrick Costello, Showrunner and Executive Producer of Top
Gear USA. "So we wanted Top Gear USA to be the first. Our research into 360
degree photomapping led us to NCTech and their incredible iSTAR camera.
NCTech helped us put together all the technology to turn this big idea into
a reality. We wouldn't have been able to do it without them. The iSTAR
camera impressed everyone. Top Gear is tough on everything, vehicles, camera
gear, etc. and the iSTAR camera held up perfectly to heaps of abuse."

iSTAR is the world's highest resolution, fully automatic, 360-degree HDR
camera. Machined from solid metal for robustness and accuracy, iSTAR
precisely captures full spherical immersive images and high resolution
panoramic data streams for fast, efficient visual documentation of almost
any environment. 

 

With the camera set to automatically capture an image every minute or so,
over 6,000 images were captured as part of the project, each of them
automatically location tagged with iSTAR's built-in GPS module. For the
upload to Google Maps, a reduced number (around 2,000) will be added. To
date, around 30 images of the journey have been uploaded, with the full
number to be completed over the weeks ahead.

 

"When we heard what Top Gear were hoping to do, we were instantly interested
because the project was a perfect fit for the easy-to-use and rugged
capabilities of iSTAR," said Neil Tocher, Co-Founder and CTO, NCTech. "We
assisted their team build a mounting plate so the iSTAR could be easily
attached to any of their vehicles, sent them some quick instructions on how
to use the camera and set them loose with it!" 

 

To access images and other background information relating to this story,
visit: https://www.nctechimaging.com/topgear/ 

 

Full iSTAR product information and images available at:
https://www.nctechimaging.com/istar/ 

 

About NCTech
NCTech designs and manufactures leading 360 degree reality imaging systems
that automate and streamline the workflow of image documentation and can be
used repeatedly, accurately, consistently by anyone anywhere. 

 

NCTech's industrial-grade camera, iSTARR, is a fast, fully automatic, 50
megapixel, 360 degree HDR camera. Fully calibrated for high precision
applications such as colourisation of laser scans or extracting
photogrammetric measurements, iSTAR has multiple applications: from covert
operations and police reporting of crime scenes to 3D laser documentation
and asset management for the engineering and heritage sectors. In 2015, the
company launched iris360, a non-calibrated camera system, intended for
aesthetic panoramic image capture and fully integrated with Google Maps' new
Street View app.

 

NCTech is headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland and is funded by Archangel
Investors Ltd and the Scottish Co-Investment Fund. For more information,
visit <http://www.nctechimaging.com>  www.nctechimaging.com

 

 

Media contact:

 

NCTech Limited

Danny Sullivan

+44 772 497 4255

  media@nctechimaging.com