Cycloramic iPhone App Uses Vibration Motor to Turn for Panorama
How to record a hands-free panorama without a tripod or swivel base
We’ve all seen a phone skitter around a table when its vibration motor gets going, but one company has figured out how to harness that force. The Cycloramic app for the iPhone is specifically designed to rotate your iPhone 5, and capture a full 360° panorama.
To use the app, you stand the iPhone 5 on its end, and hit go. The vibrations from the phone’s components cause it to slowly rotate in a circle, capturing a full panoramic video of wherever you are. Of course, since the motor is buzzing the entire time, I’m betting the videos are silent.
It’s an intriguing repurposing of the vibration motor, which is generally only there to alert you when you get a call or message. But, thanks to the perfectly flat iPhone 5 bottom and the type of motor that it has, Cycloramic manages to spin around in a circle. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work with older versions of the iPhone, and there’s no still image support — though that’s apparently in the works.
User reports are mixed for having it work — some people apparently have no problems, but others can’t seem to make it happen. However, for $0.99, it’s a fun little gimmick, and once you can grab still iamges with it, it’s bound to be plenty of fun.
[via LA Times]