Insta360 is the major player in all-seeing 360-degree cameras and is no stranger to innovation, also incubating the first 360-degree drone in 2025, the Antigravity A1.
In another first, Insta360 recently released a dual-lens compact vlogging camera, the Luna Ultra, which is a Wall-E robot lookalike that shoots 8K video, with neat detachable remote screen and mic.
And if a recent post on Weibo by its founder and CEO Liu Jingkang, aka 'JK', is to be taken at face value, the company wants to lead us into a new era of camera altogether.
The Weibo post by JK was picked up by The New Camera and after translation reads:
“Our product vision is to build a ‘Cameraman’ — an intelligent photography robot capable of automatically composing shots and capturing moments like a professional photographer, allowing users to remain fully immersed in the present.
"Today, AI is rapidly evolving, we believe the Cameraman’s 'brain' is becoming increasingly capable, unlocking new possibilities for creative imaging.
"In the long term, the ideal end state for cameras is to progressively become imperceptible, even to ‘disappear,’ until recording no longer consumes effort and becomes a natural part of life.”
The Luna Ultra already resembles a robot and there's a POV head tracker accessory available that synchronizes the camera with your head movement to film where you are looking, somewhat automating its function.
Insta360 hopes fans further caricaturize the Luna Ultra's robot-like features through a design challenge contest with Bambu Lab, too. But as a photographer and, frankly, a human being, JK's post raises some serious questions for me.
Isn't photography a creative, human pursuit?
JK's post implies that his company's future camera gear could be autonomous photography 'robots' that can compose, shoot and edit photos and videos on the fly, with little to no human involvement.
It sounds like having your own intelligent cameraperson and editor — a portable 'photography robot' much more sophisticated than the recent Beni camera robot — that follows you and is able to capture the moment as you enjoy it and piece together the best parts into a reel, with the entire workflow reliant on AI.
This imagined future might actually sound better than the current reality, to be honest: one where people walk around camera in hand, filming themselves front and center, rather than being in the moment.
And certainly when you're dealing with 360-degree clips, an intelligent editor which can suggest where the action is at any moment and piece together the edit appropriately for you is a huge time saver.
For Insta360 gear specifically, JK's vision for autonomous, intelligent cameras kind of makes sense. But as a photographer and creative, I find the idea of a 'robot' doing the job for me somewhat life sucking. It's the latter part of JK's post, however, that concerns me more.
Is it really OK to record everything?
JK's post describes an 'end state for cameras' being progressively 'imperceptible' and 'a natural part of life'. In other words, roaming cameras that the public eventually gets used to, recording anything and everything. So what about consent?
Discreet camera tech is already causing privacy concerns, with a growing backlash to wearable cameras especially Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, after it was discovered that modders could disable the light which indicates that the glasses are recording, and a fix had to be put in place.
Cameras are already commonplace in public, especially tourist hotspots. But for the most they are controlled by people with a general sense of what is and what isn't ok to photograph or record. And when someone crosses the line, it's at least possible to request they stop filming. But in Insta360's imagined future? Autonomous robots filming everything sounds like a privacy nightmare.
I've asked Insta360 for comment and clarification on the post, specifically what exactly an intelligent photography robot looks like, and how the company will address any related privacy issues, and will report back if I get further information.
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