Tech Tools: Moving (Beyond) Pictures

 

By Ricardo Harvin
E-mail Questions for Tech Tools to techtools@uschamber.com.

 

 

If you don't already have good pictures of your products with adequate descriptions available online, then go back to square one and rebuild your Web site because you're at least a century behind the times (remember the Sears catalog?). Everyone else can focus on taking the next step-using more than just static images to help make the sale.

 

Virtual reality (VR or virtual) technology adds another dimension to your product. Basically, VR works by joining together or stitching a series of images into a seamless view that can be rotated or otherwise manipulated using a mouse. Web browsers generally include the software needed to view and rotate standard VR images, especially those in the most widely used formats-QuickTime, Flash, and Java.

 

The real estate business is a leader in using VR technology. On most realtor Web sites, you can take virtual house tours with 360° horizontal (and sometimes vertical) views of individual rooms or entire properties.

 

VR can give shoppers interactive views of nearly any product. Shoppers can look, for example, at the front of an electronic device to make sure it will look good in their homes and then spin it around to view the back to see the number and types of connections.

 

You can also create full 3D views of an object by taking photos of it from every angle (front, back, sides, top, and bottom) and stitching the photos together.

 

To begin, you'll need a good digital camera, which starts at $200-$300, and VR software, which costs another few hundred dollars. Some digital cameras come with stitching software included, but to create files that are widely accessible to your audience, you'll usually still need to spend $300 (or more) for the software to convert those files into one of the standard formats.

 

For those who want a very professional and polished look, there are also completely integrated systems that include software and special cameras and equipment, but then you're talking about spending a few thousand dollars.

 

Adding advanced capabilities to your files (such as navigating through an entire house), or using one of the less popular VR formats may require your site users to download a browser plug-in file and may also add to your software costs.

 

For most shoppers, being able to see what they're buying is a key part of their purchasing decision. While VR can't replace being able to "kick the tires," it can make your Web site more informative and interactive and give people more confidence that what you're selling is exactly what they want to buy.