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Google Jump and GoPro are bringing virtual reality to YouTube

Google has announced a dedicated virtual reality ecosystem that will mean you’ll soon be able to play virtual reality content on YouTube.

The company revealed the ‘Jump’ platform at its annual Google I/O developer conference, marking further commitment to the VR space.

So what is Jump? It’s basically an end-to-end system for producing virtual reality content, and comes in three core parts.

The first part is the camera rig; Google has designed a 360-degree rig that supports 16 cameras, to film completely 360-degree footage.

“Just like we did with cardboard, we’re going to be opening up the camera geometry with plans available to everyone this summer,” said Clay Bavor, Google’s VR lead.

He added: “Anyone who’s motivated will be able to build a jump-ready camera.

Bavor also revealed that GoPro will be building and selling a Jump-ready 360-camera array; this system will be available in July to select creators.

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The second part of Jump is the assembler, which is software that will stitch all your 360-degree content together.

Google claims its assembler is much more complex and proficient than more basic rivals, and will even understand depth, allowing for different user viewpoints on a video.

“This summer, we’ll begin making the jump assembler to select creators worldwide,” said Bavor.

What’s more, Google hopes to eventually shift all of this hi-res VR content on to YouTube.

Bavor said that all you’ll need to view content on the platform is a smartphone with the YouTube app installed, and Google’s Cardboard VR headset.

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