GoPro Breaks into Virtual Reality with Acquisition of Kolor

GoPro today announced it has plans to acquire the virtual reality software company Kolor. The France based company develops tools for spherical 360-degree videos and panoramas. With the rise in VR technology hardware like the Oculus Rift, purchased by Facebook in 2014 for $2 Billion, it's easy to see what GoPro has planned for their acquisition.

In tandem with the announcement, GoPro released the above video, "Land, Air and Sea," to showcase what we can expect now that the two companies have joined up. Filmed with three GoPro Hero 3+ rigged together and combined with Kolor's software, the video showcases different videos using Kolor's technology. Someone can interact with a video much like Google Street View using their mouse in Chrome or the ASWD keys. Kolor also makes a viewing app if users are on a mobile device or not using a Chrome browser.

GoPro is also now producing rigs to help users produce content. In the past, the only real option was a do-it-yourself contraption for rigging. No word on pricing of the new rig or whether the software will be free. GoPro in the past has incorporated new features into their free GoPro Studio software.

Up until now, 360-degree content was hard to come by even with companies already producing films and experiences for VR headsets. With GoPro now hopefully making it easier for someone with a few GoPros to create content, will there be a rise in spherical videos? GoPro's track record with new technologies seems to point towards that being true.

Do you think 360-degree video is the next big thing? Do you plan to make 360-degree videos in the future?

[Via GoPro]