Radical Galaxy Studio Archives - Page 7 of 8

How VR Is Changing the Real Estate Landscape

by wpradicalgalaxy | Mar 15, 2018 | Radical Galaxy Studio

For those in need of new real estate, the process of finding, selecting and committing to a property can be one peppered with a vast amount of challenges. Buyers can ease into the process with use of full service sites such as Redfin, which offer a myriad of options that can help in this, often, very complex task.

According to National Association of Realtors research, 95% of customers search for real estate online and 51% of them find their homes through these means.

Indeed the online world offers many options and tools for an in-depth and thorough search for properties, and buyers are, evidently, taking full advantage.

Virtual Reality Real Estate Tours

What if one could not only see what their potential new home would look like, but actually experience the space in real time, interact with it from multiple angles, and even change the interior finishes?

And, do all of this, from anywhere in the world.

The meaningful merge of technology and the real estate market has brought forth virtual reality real estate tours. They’re not only rapidly reinventing the way buyers shop for property but are reshaping the view – quite literally – of this highly emotional process.

A VR tour allows for a fully immersive experience of a property without the buyer actually being in the space. Using a headset, the buyer can be transported into a real world property on the other side of the world by way of projected images from a professional camera such as the Nokia Ozo, Jaunt one or Samsung 360 Round Camera.

Researchers at Goldman Sachs are forecasting that virtual and augmented reality will become an $80 billion market by 2025, with $2.6 billion coming from real estate.

These numbers definitely point to a game-changing era, when it comes to this seemingly organic, no-brainer of a relationship between VR/AR and the real estate market.

But that’s not all.

A survey commissioned by Redfin of over showed that nearly 35% of people who bought or sold a home made a bid before viewing the home in person.

Arguably, providing people with the ability to walk and experience the space without having to be there could expand the market and kick open the door for this yet-to-be fully realized dimension of the real estate industry.

Next level of VR and AR

While Matterport and other traditional 360 firms allow buyers to tour a property that already exists, Radical Galaxy Studios takes the technology even further by allowing buyers to experience a space post renovation, or even a space that hasn’t yet been built. With a team of architects, interior designers, and technology experts, Radical Galaxy can fully render out architectural plans to show what a space can look like post construction. This allows developers to pre-sell projects earlier in the process, and buyers the chance to customize more features in their future property. By bringing buyers into the virtual reality of real estate, Radical Galaxy opens up a whole new world for the real estate industry. The project can be in any stage of completion, but the buyers will be able to look around and walk through the project, while interacting with the space such as going up the stairs or changing the flooring titles as if they were in a video game.

Market Hard-to-Sell Properties with Augmented or Virtual Reality

Radical Galaxy’s technology can also be an immensely useful tool for properties that are more challenging to sell. By creating an augmented or virtual reality simulation of what a place can look like post renovation, it allows potential buyers to see beyond a property’s current conditions to its full potential. Radical Galaxy can thus provide buyers with the vision that they sometimes otherwise lack for a remodel project. The possibilities of a space can even be seen in real time, before they actually happen. With the click of a controller, the walls can be removed, the kitchens can be reorganized, and other substantial changes can be made. Getting just the gentlest professional guidance, the buyers can get the vision of the renovated property into their stream of thinking, allowing them to more fairly consider those overlooked diamonds in the rough.

ICSC: Augmented and virtual reality change how retailers and landlords engage customers

by wpradicalgalaxy | Mar 12, 2018 | Radical Galaxy Studio

The use of augmented-reality and virtual-reality technologies is gaining popularity with retailers and retail real estate owners alike. As smartphones become ever more sophisticated and AR and VR apps get easier to use, adoption of these technologies is expected to accelerate over the next few years.

Landlords can also use AR and VR to pump up their leasing programs, says Mathew Shaffer, founder of Radical Galaxy Studio, in Bellevue, Wash., which creates virtual-reality scenes for real estate owners. “From a budgeting perspective, honestly, the virtual- and augmented-reality work is going to be a more cost-effective tool to use, rather than white-boxing or building out a spec unit,” said Shaffer. “Sometimes, though, there is a disconnect between the leasing brokers, the developers, the owners and the architects. If I am meeting with a developer, they may love it, but it is the leasing broker whom they give the budget to.”

Inman: Radical Galaxy offers high-end virtual reality home tours

by wpradicalgalaxy | Jan 24, 2018 | Radical Galaxy Studio

The difference is that a home is captured from its root beginnings, such as CAD files and materials lists.

Radical Galaxy can place a client’s actual furniture within a rendering of their new home to confirm sizes and overlaps with new interior design themes.

The company can show a home at different times of the day because it captures its geo-positioning. This allows owners to see exactly how the sun moves through the home, and what it will look like when it’s dark outside and the under-cabinet lighting is turned on.

Clients can test different countertops and stairway designs before asking an architect to sketch it or a builder to send samples. The company has integrated affordable change orders into their business plan so customers feel more comfortable making alterations.
Read more at: https://www.inman.com/2018/01/22/radical-galaxy-offers-high-end-virtual-reality-home-tours/

Radical Galaxy Founder Speaks at CREW

by wpradicalgalaxy | Jan 17, 2018 | Radical Galaxy Studio

Radical Galaxy Studio founder Matthew Shaffer had the pleasure to speak at the January lunch talk for the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) in Seattle, Washington. CREW was founded in 1989 and has over 10,000+ members globally. (more…)

Augmented Reality: Spectacular Changes for Real Estate

by wpradicalgalaxy | Jan 16, 2018 | Augmented Reality, Magic Leap, Radical Galaxy Studio

Until recently, augmented reality (AR), as a palpable concept, was floating somewhere between a filament of avid developers’ vivid imaginations and scripts of sci-fi blockbusters.

Today, we’re on the verge of being able to firmly walk into the realm of augmented reality: a place where digital information is interwoven into the actual physical world. Lines are seamlessly blurred together and one is essentially unable to pinpoint where actual reality ends and the augmented one begins. And this is, perhaps, where its main appeal lies.

We examined the impact of virtual reality technology on the ever-evolving face of real estate and how gear like VR headsets can allow a fully immersive experience into the future state of a desired property.

Augmented reality brings just as much excitement, but with a twist: it pulls up an enhanced version of reality by superimposing computer-generated images over a user’s view of what is actually there.

Augmented Reality for Real Estate Professionals

In the world of real estate, traditional flat print materials, including blueprints, are at a serious risk of being outdated tools of the trade. The use of physical real estate models will be replaced with augmented reality models.

Using augmented technology, real estate firms can have a holographic image of a lifelike 3D model of a property that is, much like a hologram, completely lifelike and interactive. The client can potentially modify the features of the property, playing around with paint color, at-scale furniture and design pieces, treating the digital replica of their would-be new digs as their own, virtually limitless playground. They can also do this from anywhere in the world.

The list of benefits augmented reality brings to the field is long and the popularity of its integration is on the rise. Research predicts that the AR and VR market in real estate is projected to reach at least $2.6 billion by 2025.

The digital tours, by use of augmented reality apps or supporting devices, promise to put the real in real estate, save time by narrowing down the viewing options, erase borders and potential hassles an international sale may impose and much more. Augmented reality can also be used to help remodel a home, by showing different interior design finishes in the room.

Differences Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

Although they both offer an intensely powerful experience, VR and AR are fairly different, when it comes to their core. VR is thoroughly immersive and can be achieved purely via use of a headset. A person using VR is transported to another world whether it’s a property in Washington DC or Miami Beach.

With AR, things are more diverse.

AR can be built out as apps for cellphones and tablets, or by using professional devices such as the Microsoft HoloLens, the first self-contained, holographic computer that enables users to engage with digital content and interact with holograms within the physical world.

So, while VR can paint an entirely different picture of our current reality, AR can add to it and enhance it dramatically. By adding something that is only virtually there AR offers a sense of meaning, as it allows the end user to interact with objects, for a purpose.

Upcoming Augmented Reality Device

Joining the AR mix sometime in 2018 is the Magic Leap One: Creator Edition – a mountable computer that combines Magic Leap’s Digital Lightfield technology –which accommodates multiple focal points so one is able to see holograms at a variety of distances – machine learning and visual perception. The product is geared toward the creator community, namely developers and the entertainment industry that would use it to create content.

Several prominent players in the entertainment industry have been linked to Magic Leap. Warner Bros. is an early investor, so odds are the studio is to utilize it in some shape or form. Not surprisingly, Lucasfilm is also highly interested in using Magic Leap’s promising tools, as it has been reported that it will be partnering with the company in creating Star Wars-related content.

Real estate professionals are sure to be an interested target group and the advances in AR technology, both announced and those still not revealed to the public, project a visionary future that is nothing short of spectacular.

Virtual Reality Headsets for the Real Estate Industry

by wpradicalgalaxy | Jan 10, 2018 | Microsoft, Oculus, Radical Galaxy Studio, Samsung HMD, Virtual Reality, Windows Mixed Reality

Sometimes, things just fit together. Those, you-complete-me types of unions are often accompanied by a response of joy and bliss and then, if the fit is built to last, the possibilities are endless.

The blissful fit we’d like to spotlight here is the serendipitous match between real estate and virtual reality headsets (HMD).

As we touched upon this previously, when in search of a perfect space, buyers/lessees are searching for much more than just a collection of walls. They’re on the hunt for that palpable yet not easily obtained “yes, this is me!” feeling of belonging and, if you will, the sense of a kismet with what is to be their next home or office. In today’s hectic race to save time and pack as much as we can into our overflowing schedules, coupling virtual reality with real estate can be a drastic time saver and efficiency booster for all parties involved.

That’s where virtual reality technology comes in, filling the gap between what is and what can be, giving buyers, sellers, lessees and brokers an opportunity to upgrade that somewhat outdated, real estate purchasing/leasing experience by providing a glimpse into the future state of the property, using 3-D imaging and virtual reality.

VR is an incredible tool that is still being developed, though, brimming with spectacular promise and foreshadowing a true real estate renaissance.

Current Virtual Reality headsets

Oculus Rift, acquired by Facebook in 2014, was released to the consumer market at the end of 2016. It currently retails around $350, dropping considerably from the starting price of $800. The device’s display offers a resolution of 1200 x 1080 pixels per eye, a refresh rate of 90hz and a 110-degree field of view. It’s proven to be very reliable when it comes to travelling around – creating an ease of use to demonstrate real estate virtual reality.

HTC Vive, also released at the end of 2016, sports impressive graphics, offers better room scale and tracking than Oculus Rift, but there’s a catch: the Vive’s sensors are more complex to arrange during travel. This headset was the choice for many groups in sales centers or other areas of their offices where the sensors remained stationary.

Released in October 2017, Windows Mixed Reality made its debut to the public, manufactured by such powerhouses as Acer, Samsung, Lenovo, HP and Dell. What makes this device stand out is the inside-out tracking that requires minimal set-up time, making it a great option for meetings. The inside-out tracking does not require separate sensors to track a person’s movement as they walk through and interact in space.

Upcoming Virtual Reality headsets?

This year, both HTC and Oculus are planning to release wireless devices in the $200 price range. A reduction in quality from the hard-wired versions should be expected, but we can certainly look at the increased freedom to move they’ll offer as a plus. Both companies are conjuring up the next major innovation, with the advancement of virtual reality technology – something we can look forward to in 2019.

LG is rumored to be joining the VR headset party in 2018 by releasing a HMD – possibly to be named UltraGear – using the same tracking platform as the HTC Vive. LG’s SteamVR headset stands to have a higher resolution and improved ergonomics over HTC Vive, so the release will offer an interesting comparison.

Somewhat of a wildcard that adds some excitement to the mix is Pimax, a Chinese manufacturer that recently raised over $4 million dollars on Kickstarter for an 8k display headset. The jury is still out on whether Pimax will be able to deliver on its promises and the verdict will come in once this product is released.

Other Headsets

Our overview would not be complete without mentioning VR headsets that are currently on the market from Google and Sony, to name a couple. These lower end devices do not quite match the performance levels of the above-mentioned options and as such are not the best options for a professional setting. In the future mobile VR will become more popular, but at the moment it has considerably higher latency compared to the hard-wired devices we discussed earlier and would be a stepdown in performance from a hardwired HMD.

With many options at play, new technology being developed rapidly and all interested parties brimming with excitement of what new prospects lie ahead, we’re certain that the VR headsets and real estate pairing is only at the scratching-the-surface stage of what is to come. We’re staying tuned.

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