Visualise: Virtual Reality Travel

I love destination photos of not only places I would like to visit but also places where I have been. But of course, the problem with photos is they are so… static. So flat.

Move over Google, now there is another way to see this planet if Visualise catches on. The London-based firm is on a mission to film the planet with high-def 360 degree images. Virtual reality (VR) technology has been around for a while but it is nice to see a firm taking it to the next level for travel. While they call themselves virtual reality content experts, they really are planet videographers.

Last Friday, Visualise picked up some travel clients. Now you can see their outstanding work if you happen to be at the Thomas Cook travel agency or one of the other handful of travel agent testing sites in Europe. For example, they are offering a helicopter tour of Manhattan, a trip to Rhodes, and a resort restaurant in Cyprus. Just don their Samsung-made goggles and headphones to be on your way around the world.

This see-it-before-you-travel idea is not new but the way Visualise is presenting it – what they call Try before you Fly – has the potential to cover virtually the entire planet with similar videos of everything, everywhere. You can almost achieve this effect using GoPro today but imagine what it would mean if you could see a destination using high-tech cameras in full 3D-like splendor before ever leaving home. I would think one day we will be able to purchase the gear and use our phones to source the travel destinations.

Eventually Thomas Cook will offer these videos on their website. For now, you can check out some of Visualise’s other works here but of course, it’s not the same when you watch it on a computer screen, much less a tablet or a phone.

While Visualise is taking the travel leap, other new technologies also may offer value to travelers one day. A couple that come to mind include Oculus VR and Amazon Echo.