360 VR tours

My latest venture is into the field of immersive VR tours.

I initially did this to help promote my own Holiday Let business, but having seen the possibilities I wanted to offer similar platforms to other accommodation providers and real estate businesses.

The 360 VR tour allows potential guests or buyers to get a real feel for the building and its character.

Hotspots allow them to discover more about specific features.

On this page, I have included examples of the VR tours I have built so far, as well as a brief explanation of the two different options available.

Old Inn House virtual tour

Kingsnympton Village virtual tour

How it works

DSLR rig

There are two options.

In the first, I cover the whole room by using a DSLR camera on a panoramic rig to take a minimum of 21 individual photographs (plus extras to cover areas of intense contrast, such as windows etc), then stitch them together to create a seamless (but flat) panorama.

I then import this into an online software package (Lapentor) which allows me to create 360 images from the flat panoramas.

I can add numerous `scenes' (individual rooms etc), create links to allow the viewer to move from room to room as they explore the property, and hotspots - icons which when clicked reveal additional information about specific features, close-up images, videos and so on.

The layout of the property can also be displayed on floorplans, with `radars' which show which room you are viewing, and what direction you are looking in.

Once the tour is complete, there are a number of display options you can use to make them available to viewers.

originals

stitched image

Using this technique, I can also replace `burned out' areas of the image (typically windows with a lot of light coming through) with shots that are properly exposed so that viewers get a feel for the whole environment.

original - exposed for indoors

replacement - exposed for outdoors

The final stage is to add floorplans, hotspots and links that really bring the tour to life - in the example below, each icon links to a new scene, or to added information about the room and facilities.

The second option is to use a smartphone with panorama head and app that automatically generates a 360 degree image. This can be imported into the VR software and built into a virtual tour in the same way as the DSLR images, but the image resolution is lower, and it it doesn't allow for the replacement of burned out sections.

smartphone rig

The completed tours are stored on the Lapentor website, from where you can generate a code to embed the tour on your own website.

There are a number of hosting options outlined here - https://lapentor.com/pricing/ - the simplest of which is provided for free.