GeoSim, an international technology firm with offices in Vancouver, Warsaw and Tel Aviv, has developed an interactive digital 3-D model of downtown Vancouver. The 14-year-old company says it could change the way that commercial real estate agents, developers, landlords, and businesses serve clients and customers.
The Virtual Vancouver model was introduced at the Emerging Technologies show at SIGGRAPH 2014. The technology provides digital models that can be used on a screen to view cities and buildings in three-dimensions. Air and ground laser scanning and photography are used to create images which are precise to within centimetres of the original object.
The 3-D model can include the interior of buildings. It’s also parametric, which means that it is searchable, allowing users to look for attributes within the model, such as windows or fire hydrants.
The model provides much more detail than what users could get from technology like Google Earth. It would allow them to virtually walk up to a building, look around and have freedom of movement to examine it in every direction.
The technology could be used so that prospective tenants could look at office space or retail stores.
Real estate agents would be able to show the interior and exterior of a property, as well as the adjacent buildings and the neighbourhood.
For commercial property investors, the model could eventually form part of a real estate firm’s sales and marketing package.
With the production of Virtual Vancouver close to completion, GeoSim is starting to discuss business applications and licensing deals as the company gets closer to launching its product later this year.
