Matterport is an online 3D environment creation and hosting service that’s ideal for real estate companies setting up virtual tours but is also used for VR walkthroughs of public buildings, museums, galleries and virtual tours.
It sounds complicated but isn’t. You choose a series of viewpoints, take a 360 image at each, and Matterport will then build your VR tour online, where visitors can ‘walk through’ your 3D space. So even if it’s easy, it sounds expensive, but it isn’t expensive either. It’s well within reach of small agencies but it’s also scalable to cope with multiple properties and larger environments.
Anyhow, the key thing with Matterport digital twins is the image captures. Matterport makes and sells its own scanning cameras, which do deliver the best results but are pretty expensive and technical. However, it’s also added support for regular 360 cameras, including a number of Insta360 models. This makes things a lot simpler for operators and the relatively inexperienced.
By adding compatibility for the Insta360 RS 1-Inch 360, Matterport now supports a higher grade of 360 camera. The RS 1-Inch 360 has, as the name suggests, 1-inch sensors. It’s more expensive than the Insta360 One X3, the latest model, but the image quality is visibly better, especially in low light.
With this setup you can capture 21MP 360 photos and 6K 360 video in minutes (it says here), then turn them into immersive 3D models and virtual tours using the Matterport mobile app.
The RS 1-Inch 360 Virtual Tour Kit is available for just $859.99, and includes a free selfie stick until Dec 14.
If you want to know more about 360 cameras generally, read 6 things to know about 360 cameras, and if you want to know what I thought of the camera, read my Insta360 RS 1-inch 360 review.