Overview

Before accepting my university offer, I didn't have the chance to visit the University of Ottawa campus. I tried taking a tour via Google Street View, but this wasn't sufficient to get a good feel for what the campus is like.

Fast forward 2 years, and my school's Makerspace started experimenting with VR technology. A group of friends and I thought VR could play a role in creating an immersive experience for future uOttawa students.

Equipment

We thought a great way for students to see what our campus feels like, is to record 360 videos at various spots around campus, and post them on YouTube to be shared. In order to do this, we experimented with various types of rigs to house Go Pros which would record our videos. We ended up modifying an open source design which we 3D printed.

Process

In order to get the perfect immersive experience, stitching all of the videos shot by the Go Pros was a challenge. We used the AutoPano Video Pro and AutoPano Giga softwares to stitch. 

Result

Once becoming familiar with the stitching process and using a perfect Go Pro rig, we were approached by our school's Recruitment Office to shoot specific shots on campus, and at big events. We also started traveling with the team which hosts applicant receptions for future uOttawa students, to give them a feel of what our campus feels like.