OREANDA-NEWS. Ricoh will hold the RICOH THETA Developers Contest, an open contest for app and gadget development for the RICOH THETA, a camera that can take 360-degree fully spherical images and videos in one shot. The contest will call for apps and gadgets that would introduce more convenience and additional uses for the RICOH THETA, with an aim to spread the joy of fully spherical scenes, a new world of expressing images, to all users. Cash prizes, including secondary prizes, will total 5 million yen (\$42,000), with the winner of the grand prize receiving 1 million yen (\$8,300) as well as a secondary prize.

An App category and a Gadget Section will be set up to receive contest applications. Further, the App category will consist of the API (Application Programming Interface) Section and the Utility Section. The API Section will be calling for apps that utilize API for the RICOH THETA, while the Utility Section will invite app entries that work with existing apps without using an API or by using data and operating as a utility. The Gadget Section is awaiting proposals based on open ideas, such as a combination using attachments or peripheral equipment. The entry period will start on April 1 (Wed.) and continue through June 10 (Wed.), with all entries submitted by June 30 (Tues.) to be judged.

This contest will be held jointly with YRP Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory (Director: Ken Sakamura), given that the idea behind RICOH THETA – to grow the product with users and not only to be done by the manufacturer – matched the purpose behind establishing Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory, which was to build ubiquitous computing environments in an open framework.