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Once you have created a 3D model of a building it's useful to have a simple tool to create a panoramic view of the property, allowing you to share it with other people via a website or iPads, iPhones and Android devices. One such application is iVisit 3D, created by the French company Abvent for Artlantis Studio, which is now available as a public Beta for Graphisoft's ArchiCAD users too.

This innovative, fast and easy way to present panoramas uses only still images from the model rather than the 3D model or animation themselves, making the calculations and navigation very fast, and file sizes very small - an important issue for mobile users. Developed especially for architects and designers, iVisit 3D allows users to view and share a project by navigating between viewpoints on the floor plan, in a palette of thumbnail preview images, or directly within the 3D views.

The initial launch of iVisit 3D proving successful, the software is now available in both English and French as an extension in ArchiCAD, allowing users to insert panoramic cameras into ArchiCAD projects, link them together, and generate iVisit 3D panoramas viewable on a website and on mobile devices. The iVisit 3D player is available as a free download from the Apple and Google app stores in Flash, Android and iOS formats.

PANORAMAS AND NODES
The whole process is quick and easy. iVisit 3D for works as an added palette in ArchiCAD, accessible from the ArchiCAD menu via: Design > Design Extras > iVisit 3D> Show Palette. It provides tools that allow users to place cameras on the planview of an ArchiCAD project, link them together and then calculate interactive panoramic views of the project, enabling it to generate an iVisit 3D Panorama.

Each node is a panoramic camera, which calculates the six necessary images for a cubic panorama giving a 360° view. The different nodes are then linked together for smooth navigation inside the project.

From within ArchiCAD, users set up the rendering engine that will be used with iVisit 3D, and when that is done, launch the panorama calculation with one click. ArchiCAD calculates all the images necessary for the selected panorama and even calculates an associated plan view of the project at the same time that will be used for navigation through the panoramic model.

WEBSITE OR MOBILE
What comes out of the calculation is an HTML folder, which includes a webpage, the Flash player and a folder including all the images. The contents can then be uploaded to the server to be viewed online. To view the panorama on a mobile device you use the free iVisit 3D Builder to create a PNO file, the file format used by both Android and iOS players. You then transfer the PNO file to your mobile device using iTunes, Dropbox or Box.com accounts.

The Beta version of the application is free to download for ArchiCAD - the offer being valid until the end of 2013. You just need to create your iVisit 3D account then download the application and the subsequent license key. You'll find support for this and other iVisit 3D applications on the site, along with details of iVisit 3D compatible mobile devices and their apps, a Blog and, of course, the Gallery, containing iVist 3D panoramas from both Artlantis and ArchiCAD users.

ABOUT THE ABVENT GROUP
The developer of the application, Abvent, is an interesting company. Launched in 1985, it offers innovative image and design solutions for CAD professionals in the fields of architecture, design and photography, including the well known Artlantis: a family of standalone 3D rendering applications developed especially for architects and designers, which are ideal for quickly and easily creating high-resolution 3D renderings, iVisit 3D Panoramas, iVisit 3D VR Objects and animations.

A recognised leader in preview window technology, Abvent has headquarters in Paris and offices in Switzerland, USA, Hungary, and Luxembourg.
www.ivisit3d.com