BestVirtualTravel.com
Virtual tours are almost synonymous with the worldwide web because it is on this medium that most such activities are conducted, usually for purposes of wholesale real estate investment. But the promise of virtual reality touring has yet to be completely fulfilled, and exciting new technologies promise to hasten that day, from special screens that work in conjunction with special optical-wear to even more advanced screens which can present three-dimensional perspectives without any glasses at all.
Some of the best virtual travel in New York City is found not in front of a television or computer screen but at Zalman Silber’s Skyride in the Empire State Building. The brainchild of serial entrepreneur Zalman Silber, the Skyride is a simulated helicopter tour of the entire city. Buzz the Brooklyn Bridge and even dodge taxi cabs on Manhattan Island, all with voiceover narration provided by actor Kevin Bacon. The entire half-hour program includes two opening presentations, one devoted to the history of the Empire State Building and the other exploring all the many things to see and do in New York City. Special combination tickets even allow expedited access to the observatory deck of the Empire State Building for Skyride guests, skipping many of the winding lines of fellow tourists!
High-definition video several storeys tall coupled with immersive surround sound and a specially designed mobile platform that synchronizes movements with onscreen actions make for a winning ride, a formula that Mr. Silber has parlayed into great success in Sydney, Australia, as well in the form of Oztrek at the Sydney Tower. For approximately fifteen minutes, guests are treated to a unique attraction all of its own, with a sensational one hundred and eighty-degree panoramic movie screen that opens out onto the Australian landscape. From Sydney’s iconic structures to Queensland’s Barron Gorge and Tully River, Oztrek delivers it all with the latest in audiovisual special effects combined with advanced motion seating technology.
Virtual tours are not a new idea, but their implementation continues to improve, providing ever more realistic verisimilitude with each passing decade. In the seventies it was simply movie screens, while the eighties introduced motion seating combined with three-dimensional technology. Right now, the state-of-the-art is delayed by the waiting for next-generation hydraulic motors that can react even faster. Originally a development for military and then civilian pilot training, these simulators are still very much dependent on advanced military research “trickling down” to civilian applications.