Google recently launched Tour Creator, a way for anyone to easily create immersive virtual reality tours right from your computer. Using footage from 360 cameras or choosing from existing Street View content, you can take us on a tour of some of your favorite places.
You can use it to show other Local Guides what makes your hometown beautiful, give us a glimpse at a small business that just opened up in your area, or create an interactive look at scenic locations you visit during your next vacation.
Anyone with a computer and internet access can create and publish a virtual reality tour on Tour Creator. Visit g.co/tourcreator on Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari and sign in with your Google account to get started. You can give us lots of details by adding in image overlays or points of interest to call attention to something specific about each scene in your tour.
Once you’ve finished creating your tour, publish it to Poly, Google’s library of 3D content. You’ll then be able to embed it on Connect or any other website. With just the URL, anyone can view your tour on a browser or through a Google Cardboard headset.
Some Local Guides have already started using the new tool to create beautiful, 360-degree tours of their areas.
Arul Chris took us around SVS Engineering College in Coimbatore, India. His tour can give prospective students and faculty a better look at the school’s facilities. Want to volunteer to do the same for a university in your area? Fill out this form.
Local Guide Steve Perry decided to take us to a place filled with natural beauty. All those dreaming of visiting Joshua Tree National Park in southern California can now get a virtual glimpse by taking his tour.
Tour Creator can also be an excellent tool for showing people around a business, venue, or office. David W. Cox used it to give us a look at a dental practice in North Haven, Connecticut. His tour is set up to show potential patients details they may not see during a normal visit.
To check out more tours created by Local Guides like you, head on over to poly.google.com/tours.
Where will you take us using Tour Creator? What place would you love for other Local Guides to virtually show you? Let us know in the comments.
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