user3322: I'm a developer and I'm intending to develop a camera based surveillance software.
The simplest way is to try and pick a 360 degrees video camera. I found some models but the problem is that the recorded/real-time flow videos are only readable by the manufacturer's software (example: GoPano).
Is there any 360° video camera device that is shipped with tools for developers so that we can build our own softwares ? Are there alternatives ? 
The idea is to have a real time video flow that could be consumable by any platform (browser, iOS SDK, Android SDK, etc.).
Regards. 

user-1: One way to go is to use a camera which you can attach a "fish-eye" (wide-angle) lens to.
These can be very expensive though and typically target professional photographers.
You have also this lens for iPhone:
http://www.pixeet.com/fisheye-lens
The other option is to contact the manufacturer of the camera you already looked at and ask if they are willing to give you the protocol specifications (or you can try reverse-engineer the protocol communication).

3322: <p>I'm a developer and I'm intending to develop a camera based surveillance software.</p>

<p>The simplest way is to try and pick a 360 degrees video camera. I found some models but the problem is that the recorded/real-time flow videos are only readable by the manufacturer's software (example: <a href="http://www.gopano.com/store/" rel="nofollow">GoPano</a>).</p>

<p>Is there any 360° video camera device that is shipped with tools for developers so that we can build our own softwares ? Are there alternatives ? </p>

<p>The idea is to have a real time video flow that could be consumable by any platform (browser, iOS SDK, Android SDK, etc.).</p>

<p>Regards. </p>
 -1: <p>One way to go is to use a camera which you can attach a "fish-eye" (wide-angle) lens to.</p>

<p>These can be very expensive though and typically target professional photographers.</p>

<p>You have also this lens for iPhone:<br>
<a href="http://www.pixeet.com/fisheye-lens" rel="nofollow">http://www.pixeet.com/fisheye-lens</a></p>

<p>The other option is to contact the manufacturer of the camera you already looked at and ask if they are willing to give you the protocol specifications (or you can try reverse-engineer the protocol communication).</p>
