Information AboutVirtual Tour |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT VIRTUAL TOUR | |
| virtual reality | |
| travel technology | |
| types of tourism | |
| sustainability | |
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A virtual tour (or '''virtual reality tour''') is Virtual Reality simulation of an actually existing location, usually comprising 2D Panoramic Images , a sequence of Hyperlink ed still or video images, and/or Image-based Models of the real location, as well as other multimedia elements such as Sound Effects , Music , narration, and text. As opposed to actual Tourism , a virtual tour is accessed on a Personal Computer (typically over the Internet ). It does not require travel, but ideally, virtual tour viewing evokes an expereince of moving through the represented space. The word panorama indicates an unbroken view, so essentially, a panorama in that respect could be either a series of photographs or panning video footage. However, of late the phrases 'panoramic tour' and 'virtual tour' have mostly been associated with virtual tours created using stills cameras. Such virtual tours created with still cameras are made up of a number of shots taken from a single point. The camera and lens are rotated around what is referred to as a nodal point (the exact point at the back of the lens where the light converges). These images are stitched together using specialist software, the movies are each resized and configured for optimal on-line use. Some 'panographers' will then add hotspots (allow user to click and walk through doors etc) and integrate plans or maps. Virtual tours can be especially useful for universities and in the Real Estate industry, looking to attract prospective students and tenants/buyers, respectively, eliminating for the consumer the cost of travel to numerous individual locations. FIRST USE The first use of a Virtual Tour and the derivation of the name {Link without Title} , was in 1994 as a museum visitor interpretation, providing a 'walk-through' of a 3D reconstruction of Dudley Castle in England as it was in 1550. This comprised of a computer controlled laserdisc based system designed by British based engineer Colin Johnson. It is a little known fact that one of the first users of a Virtual Tour was Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, when she officially opened the visitor centre in June 1994. Because the Queens officials had requested titles, descriptions and instructions of all activities, the system was named 'Virtual Tour, being a cross between Virtual Reality and Royal Tour. Details of the original project can be viewed here.. Virtual Tours of Dudley Castle archive The system featured in a conference held by the British Museum in November 1994 and in the subsequent technical paper. '' 'Imaging the Past' - Electronic Imaging and Computer Graphics in Museums and Archaeology''. This was prior to the appearance on the Web of the online browser based application QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR or QuickTimeVR), which Apple introduced as an upgrade to their QuickTime video format, thus becoming the enabling technology for viewing photographic or computer generated virtual scenes. METHODS OF CREATION Photo-Stitching Software One popular method of creation is to 'stitch' still-photographs to create panoramic images where the the end user can control zooms and pans of the stitched image. The benefit of this method is that it does not require any specialized equipment to capture the images. Any Digital Camera will work. If the individual images have varying Exposure or color settings the stitch marks will be obvious. Video-Based Virtual Tours With the expansion of video on the Internet, video-based virtual tours are growing in popularity. This is where Video Cameras are used to pan and walk-through subject properties. The benefit of this method is that the point of view is constantly changing throughout a pan. However, capturing high-quality video requires significantly more technical skill and equipment than taking digital still pictures. Video also eliminates viewer control of the tour. Therefore the tour is the same for all viewers and subject matter is chosen by the Videographer . Editing digital video requires proficiency with video editing software and has higher computer hardware requirements. Also, displaying video over the Internet requires more Bandwidth . Due to these difficulties, the task of creating video-based tours is often left to professionals. Various software products can be used (individually or in conjunction with each other) to create media rich virtual tours. See methods developed by MOVES Institute at the Naval Postgraduate School . SEE ALSO
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