What is the Splatware Virtual Tour Lab?
The Virtual Tour Lab is Splatware’s tool for turning Gaussian Splatting models into guided, hosted, interactive tours.
A Gaussian Splatting model can be impressive, but a model alone does not always tell the viewer where to look. A virtual tour adds structure. It creates a guided experience through a property, product, drone site, showroom, capture location, or 3D scene.
This is especially useful when the audience is non-technical. A hosted tour can guide buyers, clients, stakeholders, or visitors through the most important parts of a scene without requiring them to understand 3D navigation.
What are the best use cases for Gaussian Splatting virtual tours?
The best use cases are scenes where guided spatial understanding matters.
Virtual tour use cases
| Use case | Tour value | Splatware advantage |
|---|---|---|
| Real estate | Guide viewers through rooms, hallways, views, and outdoor areas. | Hosted property tours with 3DGS realism. |
| Drone mapping | Show sites, roofs, buildings, landscapes, and construction progress. | Aerial splats become guided site tours. |
| Product showcases | Move around a product, show details, and create presentation paths. | Useful for sales and ecommerce. |
| Showrooms | Guide visitors through staged environments. | Combines spatial context with visual detail. |
| Tourism and locations | Create immersive place previews. | Background audio and camera paths improve experience. |
| Client review | Walk stakeholders through capture results. | Browser links reduce friction. |
| Construction documentation | Show progress, areas of interest, and site context. | Combines 3D reconstruction with guided review. |
How should you capture for a better virtual tour?
Capture the scene with the final tour path in mind: entrances, transitions, important viewpoints, details, and viewer flow.
- Capture room transitions, doors, paths, and corridors deliberately.
- For drone tours, capture establishing views, high passes, low detail passes, and transitions between important areas.
- For product tours, capture the full object plus close detail areas.
- For 360 tours, move slowly and avoid blur because 360 resolution is spread across the full scene.
- Use stable lighting and avoid sudden exposure jumps.
- Capture enough coverage around every point where the virtual tour will pause or move.
Capture-to-tour planning
| Tour element | Capture requirement | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Opening view | Capture a clean establishing angle. | Creates a strong first impression. |
| Navigation path | Capture continuous transitions. | Prevents disconnected tour movement. |
| Hotspot or viewpoint | Capture from multiple nearby angles. | Improves detail and stability. |
| Detail section | Add close passes. | Makes important features readable. |
| Outdoor context | Use drone or exterior passes. | Connects the model to its surroundings. |
| Immersive atmosphere | Consider background audio. | Adds context for places, tours, and experiences. |
Which Splatware settings matter for virtual tours?
The most important settings are model fidelity, Gaussian count, camera path, background audio, scene cleanup, and hosted viewer performance.
Virtual tour settings
| Setting | Recommended use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| LiteV2 | Quick tour prototype or capture validation. | Useful for checking if the scene works. |
| Cinematic | Most professional virtual tours. | Strong balance of detail, appearance, and workflow. |
| Ultra | Premium property, drone, showroom, or client tours. | Higher fidelity and Gaussian count for important deliverables. |
| Camera path | Guided movement through the scene. | Turns static inspection into a tour. |
| Background audio | Immersive place, property, or drone experience. | Adds atmosphere and narrative context. |
| Editor cleanup | Remove clutter or artifacts before publishing. | Improves trust and polish. |
| Gaussian count | Balance detail with viewer performance. | Tours should look good and load well. |
| Hosting | Public or private sharing. | Makes the tour accessible through a browser link. |
How do you host and share a Gaussian Splatting virtual tour?
Publish the tour with Splatware hosting, test the link, and share it with the right audience.
A virtual tour becomes valuable when it can be opened easily. Splatware hosting lets you share tours as browser-based experiences instead of sending raw model files.
Before sharing, test the tour on desktop and mobile. Check load time, navigation, important viewpoints, and whether the first view explains the scene clearly.
Sharing checklist
| Check | Why it matters | Good result |
|---|---|---|
| Correct model | Avoid sending wrong versions. | The tour opens the approved scene. |
| Load speed | Viewers leave if the tour feels broken. | The scene loads acceptably. |
| Mobile behavior | Many links are opened on phones. | Navigation remains understandable. |
| Viewpoints | The tour should guide attention. | Important areas are easy to find. |
| Context | Viewers need to know what they are seeing. | Title or message explains the tour. |
| Privacy | Some tours should not be public. | Use the correct sharing mode. |
What mistakes should you avoid when creating virtual tours?
Avoid building a tour from an unreviewed model, using random camera paths, skipping transitions, and ignoring performance.
Virtual tour mistakes
| Mistake | Why it hurts | Better approach |
|---|---|---|
| No capture plan | The tour lacks important areas. | Capture for the final path. |
| Unedited model | Clutter and artifacts reduce trust. | Clean the scene before publishing. |
| Too many viewpoints | The tour feels confusing. | Use only meaningful stops. |
| No transitions | Movement feels disconnected. | Capture and build clear paths. |
| Overly heavy model | Viewer performance suffers. | Balance Gaussian count and fidelity. |
| No mobile test | Many viewers may have a poor experience. | Test on mobile before sharing. |
Frequently asked questions
Can Splatware create virtual tours from Gaussian Splatting models?
Yes. Splatware can create hosted virtual tours from trained or uploaded Gaussian Splatting models.
Can I create a virtual tour from drone capture?
Yes. Drone splats can become guided site tours, aerial property tours, construction documentation, or location previews.
Can I create a virtual tour from 360 video or INSV footage?
Yes. Splatware supports 360 video and INSV-style workflows, which are useful for immersive virtual tours.
Can a Splatware virtual tour include background audio?
Yes. Background audio can be used to add atmosphere and context to tours when available.
Can I edit the model before creating a virtual tour?
Yes. Use the Splatware Editor to clean clutter, color grade, cut unwanted parts, and align the scene before building the tour.
Can I render a video from a virtual tour?
Yes. Splatware Studio can render videos, animations, and camera-path flythroughs from Gaussian Splatting scenes.
What model is best for virtual tours?
Use LiteV2 for testing, Cinematic for most professional tours, and Ultra for premium scenes where maximum detail matters.
Can virtual tours be hosted online?
Yes. Splatware can host tours so clients, buyers, teams, or public visitors can open them through a browser link.