When it comes to finding a house, buyers and renters in the frothy Vancouver market know all about the frustrations — forced into a bidding war for a place you’re not that keen on, or worse, haven’t even seen, exorbitant rents for ramshackle digs, and a foreign buyers’ tax adding to the price tag for those coming from overseas.
So the western Canadian city is a perfect place for two Taiwanese tech companies to pitch their virtual reality solutions to the problems that bewitch all those who have struggled to buy, sell or rent a place to call home. And no, neither one involves an alternate reality where housing is affordable and plentiful and all your neighbours are friendly and not weird.
Sponsored by XR EXPRESS TW program, FolliaVR and iStaging are in town for the VR/AR Global Summit taking place this Friday and Saturday, with each of the companies offering a way to improve life for the residents, property-owners and realtors of this city and others all around the world.
FolliaVR says it can teleport users to their “dream space from the future” in real-time, using ray-tracing technology to produce highly accurate renderings which can be adjusted with a choice of 5,000 items of furniture and building materials.
Picky customers don a headset and can see what the kitchen will look like in marble or granite or pore over whether their want a Nordic pine or mahogany table until their heart’s content. Being able to turn around in the space and walk through it makes it easier to understand the house plan, and if the VR model is provided time information it will show what your creation looks like in the early morning, with a late afternoon glow, or as dusk comes on.
“We want to emphasize that home is an important place for us to rest our minds and bodies and to regain energy,” said FolliaVR founder Song Yu Lin. “For us, it’s our mission to help people to find their dream houses.”
The company says its product can help construction companies start selling two or three months earlier, save 90 percent of the costs of model homes, photo rendering and printouts, and increase their chances of closing a deal.
iStaging is meanwhile making it more likely that you’ll be able to see a virtual walkthrough of a prospective property by putting the power to create virtual reality in the pockets of realtors and stagers.
“While many existing VR capture solutions rely on expensive services or costly third-party hardware, iStaging has focused on maximizing convenience and affordability by leveraging technology people already use: their mobile phones,” the company said in a statement to Mobile Syrup. “Anyone can now capture, edit, and share immersive 8K iStaging LiveTours of spaces with anyone in the world.”
The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Taipei with satellite offices in San Francisco, Shanghai and Paris.
The two companies will be speed-dating and workshopping with some of the most virtual reality focused executives, thinkers, investors and inventors at the global event.
