360-degree photography and video can be experienced with a virtual reality headset, but one company allows you to hold it in 3D-printed form.
New Orleans-based startup company Scandy raised around $1 million in seed funding from Callais Capital in an effort to put spherical prints in the hands of customers, according to TechCrunch.
To capture images in 360 degrees with Scandy, users can download the company app to shoot panoramic photos of anything they want to print.
Panoramic images can also be uploaded to the Scandy system, which takes the digital information and 3D prints it into a sphere-shaped photograph that customers can hold in their hands. The final 3D-printed product is packed and shipped to your doorstep for as low as $20.
Scandy spheres come in three sizes — small, medium for $35, and large for $55. Images are also available as a kit, which contains one of each size for $100.
360-degree images are becoming more popular than ever. Players in the space include Google's domed cameras, which are used to take pictures for Street View and GoPro's $5,000 Omni rig.
Spheres are not the only shapes that are available to print. Scandy users can also make miniature prints of single objects instead of entire photos.
Scandy, which launched in March 2015, also has its own iOS software to let users take full-surround pictures, and acts as a social network.
"Scandy has an opportunity to define how users capture and consume 3D content. We are excited to be part of this tremendous growth opportunity," Hal Callais, managing director and CIO of Callais Capital Management, said. "By allowing a user to create 3D content, share it on social media, and order 3D prints from the same application, Scandy has made 3D easy for the average consumer."
Users who own an iPhone can download the app from the App Store, and Scandy for Android went live on May 5, according to the company's Kickstarter page.
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