In the evolving landscape of digital real estate marketing and architectural visualisation, certain terms have become essential to understanding the technological innovations transforming the industry. This glossary aims to demystify these terms, providing clear definitions to enhance comprehension and communication when discussing digital twins and immersive experiences for off-plan real estate and beyond.
AR overlays digital information on the real-world environment. Unlike VR, it does not create a fully immersive experience but enhances reality with digital elements, accessible via smartphones - using the camera - or AR glasses. Typical examples include filters on Snapchat or Instagram. It is now being deployed in a variety of fields including real estate where it is used for applications ranging from interior design visualisations to full models of entire developments.
VR creates a completely immersive digital environment that users can interact with using special headsets. The headset usually isolates the user’s vision, thereby providing a fully immersive visual experience. It is often combined with other technologies such as spatial audio. VR is used for various types of real estate visualisations such 360 tours and real time, allowing users to experience a property as if they were physically there.
This refers to experiences that display virtual content via a device’s screen without the need for additional hardware. Users interact with non-immersive VR using traditional interfaces, such as a mouse and keyboard, or touch screen, as in a video game.
MR merges real and virtual worlds to produce new environments where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real-time, offering a more immersive experience than AR. MR sits in between AR and VR, drawing elements from both.
AI involves the development and creation of computer systems that can execute tasks typically needing human intelligence, such as analysis, decision making and speech or image recognition to name a few. In the context of real estate visualisations, AI can automate and enhance property visualisation, customer service via AI agents (see NPC), and analysis of buyer behaviour.
A digital twin is an advanced virtual model that mirrors a physical object, system, or process. It integrates real-time data to simulate, analyse, and optimise real-world operations. Digital twins are pivotal in industries such as real estate and urban planning, for predictive maintenance, construction simulation and as sales support tools, offering a dynamic instrument for innovation and efficiency.
A visual twin is a highly detailed digital representation that visually simulates a real-world entity or future project. It combines 3D modelling and real-time data to offer immersive previews for design validation, stakeholder engagement, and marketing. Visual twins are instrumental in architecture, real estate, and urban planning, enhancing visualisation and decision-making processes.
A virtual property tour created by stitching together 360-degree photographs or renders. Users can navigate through a property digitally, from a number fixed points called hotspots. 360 tours offer 3 degrees of freedom (3DOF), meaning that the user can looking around in all directions from these stationary hotspots across the x, y and z axis (also known as pitch, roll and yaw).
A virtual property tour created with video game technology (see Game Engine), allowing free exploration of the environment, thanks to full character control and 6 degrees of freedom. The 3D scene is rendered in real time, which enables the user to interact directly with the environment, while features such as life elements enhance the richness of the experience. Not to be confused with 360 tours which is a static experience.
The process of generating a photorealistic or non-photorealistic image from a 2D or 3D model through computer software. The created image or output is a render, which is a 2D representation of a 3D scene generated through computer graphics.
The process of generating photorealistic images in real-time, allowing users to interact with 3D environments dynamically. Popularised by the video game industry, this technology is essential for freely walkable (with 6DOF) immersive and interactive experiences.
Software used to create video games and virtual experiences. Game engines like Unreal Engine and Unity are used for developing real-time, interactive 3D environments for virtual tours.
A powerful game engine widely used for creating highly realistic and interactive 3D experiences, including virtual property tours and simulations.
Another leading game engine that developers use to create interactive 3D content, including mobile apps, games, and virtual tours, known for its versatility across platforms.
Describes the types of movement allowed in a virtual environment: rotation around the X, Y, and Z axes, without positional movement. Typical of hotspot navigation in image/render based 360 virtual tours.
Allows both rotational and translational movement in all three dimensions, offering a more realistic and immersive VR experience. In practice, this means that the user can freely walk through a 3D scene, exploring and looking in all directions from undelimited viewpoints.
A feature in virtual tours that allows users to move between different fixed and predetermined viewpoints or areas by clicking on designated spots within the virtual environment. It is related to 3DOF, since the user is limited to looking around from set viewpoints.
Free-walking navigation allows users to move freely within a virtual environment, offering an immersive experience that mimics natural movement (also known as 6 degrees of freedom or 6DOF). Essential for virtual tours and simulations, it enables exploration without constraints, enhancing realism and user engagement in VR and architectural visualisations.
An umbrella term covering Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). XR technologies blend digital and physical worlds or create fully immersive experiences.
It refers to the field that deals with generating images with the help of computers, i.e. creating and manipulating visual content digitally. In our industry, it involves creating realistic images, animations and digital twins of off-plan assets such as real estate, using software.
A field of artificial intelligence that enables computers and systems to derive meaningful information from digital images, videos, and other visual inputs. It involves techniques that allow machines to see and interpret the world as humans do. In the context of real estate and architectural visualisation, computer vision can be used for analysing property images, creating 3D models from 2D pictures, and enhancing virtual and augmented reality experiences by enabling the accurate integration of digital content with the real world.
Spatial Computing encompasses technologies that enable computers to interact with and understand the three-dimensional space around them. This field integrates hardware and software to create interactive environments where digital and physical realms merge seamlessly. Spatial Computing powers a range of applications, from augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to robotics and autonomous vehicles, allowing devices to perceive, analyse, and navigate the real world in real time.
Spatial Mapping is the technology that enables the integration of digital content with the real world in augmented and mixed reality applications. It maps and understands the physical space to allow virtual objects to interact naturally with their environment, such as placing digital furniture within a room. Essential for creating immersive and realistic experiences, Spatial Mapping enhances AR and MR applications, improving property tours and architectural visualisations.
The next evolution of the internet, integrating physical and digital spaces and enabling users to interact with digital content in the real world through AR and VR.
Spatial audio is a technology that mimics the way sound behaves in the real world, enhancing the realism of virtual environments by providing 3D sound.
Architectural Visualization involves creating digital representations of architectural designs, showcasing how buildings and spaces might appear once constructed. Utilising 3D modelling and rendering, it helps architects, designers, and developers convey design concepts and market properties effectively, providing a preview of future projects.
A JavaScript API for rendering interactive 2D and 3D graphics within any compatible web browser, enabling the creation of complex visuals without the need for plugins. Graphics are rendered at the user’s device level, using the hardware’s GPU.
Pixel streaming, also known as cloud streaming, is a technology that streams interactive 3D content from powerful servers to any device, enabling high-quality visuals without the need for high-end hardware on the user's end. Real-time rendered virtual experiences such as video games or virtual property tours are typically large programs that require an advanced GPU(s) to process the graphics. Given that the average user device (e.g. smartphone) does not possess this GPU power, the program (game or tour) is therefore run on a cloud server, with only the video output streamed to the user device. Pixel streaming differs from video streaming by allowing 2 way data flows, meaning that the user can interact with the program remotely.
A GPU is a specialised processor designed to accelerate the creation and rendering of images, animations, and video. Essential for powering high-intensity graphics tasks, GPUs are crucial in gaming, virtual reality, and architectural visualisation, enabling smooth, detailed visual experiences.
A basic unit of 3D models, consisting of a flat shape with three or more straight sides. The complexity of a 3D model is often measured by its polygon count.
A digital representation of a three-dimensional object created using computer graphics software. In real estate, 3D models are used to create detailed replicas of properties. They form the basis of all types of content, from renders to real-time rendered virtual tours.
A digital environment that includes 3D models, lighting, camera angles, and other elements, creating a comprehensive setting for virtual tours or simulations.
Image Stitching involves merging multiple photographs or videos to form a single output that is either larger or of higher resolution than its components. Frequently employed in crafting 360-degree tours, this method can be executed either by hand or through automation. While automated stitching tends to be more cost-effective, manual stitching often results in a more flawless integration of images.
BIM is a collaborative process that creates and manages all the information on a construction project across the project lifecycle. It involves the generation of digital representations of physical and functional characteristics of places. BIM facilitates decision-making for architecture, engineering, and construction professionals, improving accuracy, efficiency, and communication.
Referring to digital content that allows user interaction, leading to real-time changes or responses within the environment. Example features within a virtual tour include changing materials, opening doors, or switching lights, enhancing the immersive experience.
Features within a visual twin / virtual tour that introduce elements of life as found in the real world, such as flying birds, ambient sounds, wind effects in trees, moving water, enhancing the immersive experience.
A character within a virtual environment that is not controlled by the user but can interact with them or perform certain actions, adding life to the scene. These can be embedded with an AI chatbot tailored to specific needs such as providing information related to a property within an immersive experience.
The overall qualitative experience a user has when interacting with a digital product, encompassing usability, accessibility, and efficiency. Many factors contribute to the user experience, such as how easy and intuitive an interface is, the quality of graphics, and level of disruptions to the experience such as lag.
Customer Experience is defined as the representation of the customer’s emotional, cognitive, behavioural, sensorial, emotional and social responses to a firm’s offering during the customer’s entire purchase journey.
A software application developed specifically for a particular platform or device, offering high performance and taking full advantage of the device's features. Examples include iOS and Android apps developed for their respective mobile devices such as iPhone.
The process of hosting a digital product or service on the web, making it accessible via web browsers without the need for downloading or installing software. Programs deployed on the cloud via pixel streaming and experiences built in WebGL would be considered deployed on the web.
The 3D internet is an evolving idea. Often associated with concepts like the Metaverse, virtual reality (VR), and Web3, it refers to a fully immersive and interactive online and digital environment that enables users to navigate through and interact with content and other users in three-dimensional spaces. Unlike the traditional internet, which primarily relies on two-dimensional web pages and media, the 3D internet offers a spatial and visual experience that mimics physical reality or creates entirely new, virtual worlds.
Gamification incorporates game design elements into non-gaming contexts, with the aim of boosting user engagement and retention. By applying mechanics like points, levels, and challenges, it motivates participation, learning, and interaction, making activities more enjoyable and rewarding.
This glossary seeks to provide a foundational understanding of the terms critical to navigating the technologies reshaping off-plan real estate marketing and design visualisation. By familiarising yourself with these concepts, you will be better equipped to explore the innovative solutions that can transform the way properties are presented, designed, and experienced.
For developers interested in leveraging these technologies for their off-plan properties, we encourage you to reach out to us. Our team specialises in creating customised visual twin solutions that align with your specific project needs and marketing goals.
