360-Degree Home Tour Ads Launch in San Francisco

San Francisco will be the site of a full-city “immersive imaging” project that will allow potential home buyers to use the Internet to tour houses advertised for sale room by room and check out the neighborhoods where they are located.

Sponsored by Cupertino, CA-based Be Here Corp., the project, called SF Sweep, will use Be Here’s PanImage technology. PanImages are 360-degree immersive images taken with Be Here’s Portal S1 camera lens system.

PanImages can be moved by the viewer using a computer mouse, giving the viewer the impression of standing in the center of the space in the image and “looking around.”

SF Sweep is said to be the nation’s first comprehensive use of immersive images for commercial real estate use.

Although immersive images have been created for smaller client-specific projects, the extensive content generated by SF Sweep will display all marketing applications for the technology, including real estate, travel, retail, and education. The first example of SF Sweep can be viewed on the Pacific Union Residential Brokerage site.

Be Here said it will work with San Francisco real estate firms to create images of homes for sale, offering each firm the option to create walk- throughs or tours through selected homes. This content will be complemented by tours of neighborhoods, shopping centers, parks, and other attractions.

The company said it will also work with home improvement service organizations, such as contracting firms and their representatives, to provide online product and work portfolios for prospective customers.

Other initial clients include:

• Home and Land, a national print magazine, and Homes.Com, an Internet database advertising properties for sale. Initial coverage will include Northern and Southern California, with intentions to roll out the program nationally.
• ImproveNet, a service that matches homeowners involved in major remodeling and landscaping projects with pre-screened, pre-qualified contractors, architects, designers, and lenders. ImproveNet will use PanImages to display projects in its Design Gallery, monthly e-zine “@ImproveNet,” and its Project of the Month.

Be Here is focused on the development of interactive panoramic still image, moving image, and live broadcast technology that allows users to experience remote locations over the Internet or on CD-ROM.