GoPro CEO Nick Woodman has announced at the Code Conference that the company is developing two new products, a quadrocopter and a spherical VR camera, that will bring them into new and rapidly expanding markets.
The spherical VR camera captures video designed for viewing on Oculus Rift, Microsoft HoloLens, Google Cardboard and even YouTube 360. It's made up of six GoPro Hero4 cameras, each $500 when sold separately, pointing in different directions. Software from Kolor, a VR company acquired by GoPro earlier this year, stitches the imagery from each camera into a single 360-degree video.
Development of the ball-shaped VR camera was spurred on by Facebook's acquisition of Oculus, which suggested to Woodman that "there's going to be heavy development and investment in virtual reality". The camera will be released in the second half of this year at an undisclosed price.
As for the GoPro quadrocopter, Woodman revealed that the company has been working on a consumer-oriented drone as "the ultimate GoPro accessory." The quad will be available in the second half of 2016, and when it launches, expect a whole array of related products that complement GoPro's new product category.
With the quadrocopter not launching for over a year, it's understandable that the company hasn't announced many details, such as features or a price. However, entering the drone market is an obvious step forward for GoPro, as many drones already on the market are compatible with GoPro's very own action cameras.