Ever wanted to nose around the Queen’s house? Well now you can – well sort of, and the best encounter is reserved for students though.
In a step forward and further enhancement in technology, Google has teamed up with the Royal Collection Trust (the organisation which manages all the old, royal buildings) to bring this event to reality.
It is understood that whilst anyone can view the inside of Buckingham palace so long as they have a smart phone, it is currently only children and students who will be able to use the virtual reality headsets to feel fully immersed in this experience.
The actual tour is exiting taking you behind the scenes of the many grand and state rooms the house has to offer. There is an opportunity to view some of the Queen’s impressive artwork, aswell as discovering the history behind the building and contents as you go along. (Just to clarify, we haven’t been lucky enough to see this ourselves – yet, although the prospect is quite exciting!)
The experience was captured by an army of Google equipment which was used to be able to make this happen. Many ‘jump cameras’ were used – sited on tripods, which allowed different pictures to be photographed at the same time. The clever thing then comes next. All the pictures were then ‘welded together’ to form a complete view of the area, just as though you were there – a bit like piecing a jigsaw puzzle together. The technology is so advanced that it is impossible to make out the apparent seams where all the pictures are brought together.
We understand that the Queen has not tried out this technology yet, but has waved her white gloves in approval for it.
It is hoped that in time the project can expand and become available for all. Most of us can’t or never will be able to get into the grounds or inside of Buckingham Palace, but at least there is an offering of the next best thing on the horizon.
Once again we can see that Google is further pushing forward with technology – racing to show it is far more than just a search engine.
The thing speaks for itself here: if Google can land a partnership with something associated with royalty, then this proves what an authoritative organisation it must be!
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