Construction and architecture is one of the areas of the virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) market seeing the fastest growth. Many construction, design and architecture companies are seeing the advantages of allowing customers to see what something will really look like before it is built. Toll Brothers, a building company focussed on creating luxury homes, has begun to pilot a new tool to help new buyers envision what their homes will look like.
The first iteration of the VR tool is called Kitchen 360, and it allows customers at Toll Brothers’ Englewood Design Studio and its offices at Parker to give prospective customers a virtual tour through a kitchen of a Toll Brothers home, using either a tablet or a HTC Vive headset.
In order to create the realistic kitchen tour, Toll Brothers has partnered with Marxent, a creator of AR and VR content to create a photo-realistic 3D composite of various kitchen designs. The technology is primarily targeted at home builders and retailers, and allows customers to personalise the design features of their dream home, choosing details such as cabinet door styles, flooring, counter tops and paint colours.
“Virtual reality technology has made incredible advancements, and Kitchen 360 takes it to another level for home building,” Jed Gibson, President of Toll Architecture, said. “Many builders offer video walk-throughs, or you can see a static image of a generic kitchen and change the cabinet color or floors. With the Kitchen 360 buyers will not only see, but also step into the kitchen they have selected. Every element of the kitchen is independently rendered so that the user can make changes in real time, and there are more than 420 options to select from. It creates a one-of-a-kind experience for each home buyer.”
Further information on the Kitchen 360 technology, including a preview of the experience, can be found at the Toll Brothers website.
VRFocus will continue to bring you news on new applications of VR technology.
via Mint VR