Like saying goodbye to a kid finally leaving for the big wide world, outgoing US President Obama gave his final speech to a nation on the brink of change on Tuesday evening in Chicago.
But while it was a momentous occasion for both Obama and the American public, it was also fairly big for emerging technologies. Alongside traditional broadcasts, the speech was the first of a US president to be aired as a 360-degree video on Facebook, Periscope/Twitter and YouTube.
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Using three of Nokia‘s OZO camera rigs, virtual reality company VRScout alongside Radiant Images and vantage.tv recorded and beamed the feed to social media, which also allowed users to don their VR headsets and be a virtual part of the crowd.
Obama’s was the first presidential speech to be broadcast on social media in 360-degree video
“We’re honored to have been chosen by The White House to bring such a historic event to life, and to preserve this moment for future generations,” VRScout notes on its website.
If you’d like to hear Obama’s final rallying cry and see members of the audience do the latter as well, have a look at the embedded VR video below. Additionally, if VR isn’t quite your bag, view the entire speech in traditional YouTube glory here.
