12 March 2020 – Lower Hutt, New Zealand
The following is based on a conversation with a colleague based in Singapore who reports a massive increase in the use of 3D virtual walkthroughs by companies throughout Asia, as part of their efforts to protect staff from the coronavirus pandemic.
Today the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak is now classified as a pandemic. Countries and companies around the world are accelerating delay and mitigation strategies including social distancing, reducing travel, increased cleaning regimes and if you’re feeling sick – please, stay at home.
The virus outbreak brings considerable challenges for companies whose businesses rely on having people in the field, travelling from place to place and interacting with others. Overseas many firms have made the decision to cancel all non-essential travel, or where it’s possible, having staff work from home. Demand for video conferencing and chat software is skyrocketing. However there are many jobs that require a presence onsite to view, inspect, assess and report.
One mitigation some are adopting is the use of 3D virtual walkthroughs to minimize the time and presence of workers onsite. Platforms such as Matterport, as used by HomePlan NZ Ltd, can be utilized to quickly create a ‘digital twin’ of any physical environment and allow workers/inspectors to effectively be there, when they’re not.