Environment from linked 360° media
- 360° photos and videos that you can take with a camera in the real world or create virtually from a 3D model
- Easy to create, as you can easily photograph or film existing real or virtual environments
- You determine the perspective. For multiple views, multiple shots can be created and linked together.
- Compatible with all popular smartphones, VR glasses and web browsers
- Animations can be inserted in as videos
- Usually offers Intuitive navigation between locations using gaze control
Virtual real-time environment
- You can create a virtual world from 3D models on your computer or scan them using point cloud scanners or photogrammetry.
- Complex in production, because 3D models have to be created separately or CAD files for VR glasses have to be optimized.
- The user chooses the perspective and can move freely in the virtual world
- Usually requires a powerful computer and suitable VR glasses. Mobile image quality is often insufficient (blurred, flickering, etc.).
- Animations can react interactively to the user because they are calculated live.
- Usually more complex navigation via the controller of the VR-glasses
Are 360° media also “3D”?
Yes, 360° media can be as 3D as virtual real-time environments typically are. Instead of a normal 360° shot, the camera takes two slightly offset shots simultaneously. One shot is for the left eye and the other for the right. This is called a stereoscopic image. This requires a special camera with additional lenses. Most cameras on the market are currently designed for monoscopic images in where no optical depth can be seen.
If you create 360° s based on an existing 3D model (e.g. CAD file) it is possible to create a stereoscopic panorama which looks as plastic as the original.