So what is a Virtual Tour
Essentially, a Virtual Tour is 360 imagery with some kind of built in and guided navigation. These tours are typically made of 360 images and video, into which any manner of additional media can be added, such as regular photos, videos, pop ups, buy links, can all be placed inside of that virtual tour, so then, it can be viewed in VR on a mobile device, or desktop. Building on this concept, dozens or hundreds of 360 panos from multiple rooms, levels, or even drone captured 360s can be added as needed.
Breakdown of a Virtual Tour
At the core of every 360 Virtual Tour PanaScope produces are some core Tour “Sections” that are composed of “Components”. Below should you help understand what to basically expect when building any virtual tour
In short, there are:
- Tour sections: A Tour base and a Tour Area. Then those are broken into
- Tour Components: A Gateway, a Centroid, a Port, and a Satelite.
Below is the breakdown of these parts in an easy to understand guide, depicted with most basic scenarios shown in the first image we see here. Definitions of these parts are provided below
Tour Sections
Tour Base
Tour Base has 4 nodes. A Gateway and a Centroid. This is the core of every VR Tour PanaScope provides their clients.
Tour Area
Tour Area has 2 nodes. A Port and a Centroid
Tour Components
Gateway
A Gateway group is 3 Nodes. A Port node, and 2 flanking Satelite nodes. This node “cluster” connects the location of the tour to the outside world
Port
A Port node is a transition node from one area to another. Like a doorway, hallway or corner.
Centroid
A Centroid node is the center node of any area to be showcased
Satelite
A Satelite node is used to reveal detailed and or obscured portions of an Area. Like a shopping aisle, Artwork or a window view.
Tour Build Process
With logistics out of the way, you’re now better armed to build your own location’s Virtual Tour