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How to capture Realsee 3D tours with Insta360 cameras?

How to capture Realsee 3D tours with Ricoh Theta cameras?

Panoramic Camera Connection

Panoramic camera startup procedure:

• Press and hold the power button for 3 seconds. When the power indicator is steadily lit, the panoramic camera is powered on.
• Turn on your mobile phone's WiFi settings and connect your phone to panoramic camera.
• The Wi-Fi password depends on the camera manufacturer's own connection method.

Take Ricoh Panoramic camera as an example:

• Connect to camera WiFi: Ricoh camera WiFi name typically ends with OSC.
• Ricoh Camera WiFi Password: the numeric portion of the WiFi name.
• Insta360 Camera WiFi Password: 88888888

Panoramic Camera Capture Steps

1. Space Organization

Before capturing, please tidy up the space where you will be capturing and try to ensure that the capture site is as tidy as possible to avoid affecting your final VR presentation.

• Tidy the space to be captured and put away or cover up any private objects in the space in advance.
• It is recommended to turn on all lights and open the curtains in the space. (Note: A dark environment will make the VR model less effective)
• Open the doors in the space to be captured. (Note: Entry doors need to be closed)

2. Planning the Scanning Path

When planning the scanning path, follow these recommendations:

• Single Area: For spaces with only one area, simulate the actual browsing path of a user within the space for capture.
• Multiple Areas: For spaces composed of multiple areas, scanning each area in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction to avoid missing areas or repeating paths.

Note: The captured points directly correspond to user navigation points in VR. So the reasonableness of the point placement directly affects the effect of the VR model, the navigation experience, as well as the overall spatial representation. 

• The first point is recommended to be placed at the entrance of the space.
• Keep a distance of 20cm or more between the device and the wall when capturing.
• Place one point every 1.5~2m. Ensure that there is a co-viewing area between adjacent points.
• The connection between two spaces must be captured as points (e.g. doorway, passage, corner).
• Avoid having people appear in the capture area during the capture process.

3. Start Scanning

• According to the capture planning path, place the panoramic camera and tripod at the first point. After connecting the device, tap the Scan button at the bottom of Realsee VR app homepage to start capture.

• On the scanning page, click the blue button at the bottom. When the capture is completed, a prompt tone will sound.

Note：

• The capture method of the panoramic camera is related to its own design. It may start capturing immediately or rotate for capture after being placed.
• During camera capture, users should avoid being in the scanning range of the panoramic camera lens to avoid affecting the model splicing and the final VR product.

• After the scanning of the first point is completed, a model will be automatically generated in the canvas. Click on the point to view the preview panoramic image.

• At this time, the panorama view is for preview. After the VR is generated, the quality of the processed panorama (color, clarity, etc.) will be better. Also, the panorama quality is affected by the camera's hardware itself.

• After confirming the effect of this point, you can move to the next point and tap the blue '+' button at the bottom to continue capturing.

• After the scanning of the second point is completed, a model of this point will be generated, and the system will automatically stitch the model based on the co-viewing area between these two points.

Note: The co-viewing area refers to the area that can be captured from two points. It serves as the main basis for the model automatic stitching. During the scanning process, users should reserve a sufficient co-viewing area for the model automatic stitching. The larger the co-viewing area, the more accurate the stitching will be.

• Repeat the above operations until the space scanning is completed. If everything is confirmed, click the Finish button. After entering the project name, you can save or generate the project by tapping the corresponding button.

Tip: When uploading files, mobile data may be used. Users can save the project and upload it later in a Wi-Fi environment.

• The VR upload and processing time is related to the number of points captured and the number of projects currently being processed in the background of the system. When the VR processing is complete, your phone will receive a message indicating the completion of the project processing (it is recommended to open the message indication in the phone settings - Realsee VR app).

4. Sharing

Once your 3D tour project is published online, you can copy and paste its link and share it on any social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

Panoramic Camera Scan Settings

1. Countdown

Using the Countdown function, the following capture will start after a 5s/10s/15s' countdown. You can choose the appropriate shelter to hide before the countdown ends.

2. Exposure

The Exposure feature can help the camera capture higher-quality and clearer panoramic pictures in too bright or too dark environments.

3. Clear Camera Data

Panoramic images captured by the panorama camera are stored in the camera in real time. To prevent the camera's insufficient storage space from affecting normal capture, you can enable the Clear Camera Data option to clear the camera cache in real time.

Tip: Clear Camera Data feature is enabled by default and will not use any network resources.