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Planitar, the company behind home tour and real estate media solution iGuide, has released a new, more versatile camera system to capture home interiors for digital twin creation and listing marketing.
The new capture device, Planix R1, is designed to be more physically and technically nimble when helping agents turn homes into digital twins, according to an announcement Wednesday. And it’s more affordable, too.
“It’s the next step in the evolution of our Planix cameras, featuring a streamlined system architecture that delivers robust capture capabilities and an unparalleled experience for everyday use and capturing anything, from very small to very large spaces,” Planitar CEO Alexander Likholyot said in a statement.
The updated hardware works in concert with all existing account installations and iGuide interfaces and “depending on the project type, an iGuide 3D virtual tour and floor plan can be delivered in minutes, with complete 3D CAD drawing packages available within a few days,” the announcement states.
Among the array of new features, Planitar says the visuals are better and the onboard LiDAR is more accurate, able to reduce floor plan measurement uncertainty to .5 percent and improve square footage accuracy by one precent. It’s smaller, the battery last longer and the pricing model includes process and a year of hosting. It does not require a monthly subscription.
The solution is delivered through the Ricoh Theta X and connected to the Planix rotating tripod mount, the announcement adds.
IGuide works with Floorplanner to quickly generate dynamic, navigable floor plans that present alongside digital twin tours to assist users with room-by-room perspective.
Released in 2022, the Ricoh Theta X is celebrated for its pocket-carry form factor and affordability. It’s been a common selection for agents for a number of years, but primarily under its namesake tour platform.
The new Theta X camera has an onboard, 2.25-inches color touch screen, the first of its kind in the Theta line. In addition to camera controls and image settings, the screen allows users to preview the scene for final capture. There’s also enhanced 2D and 360-degree image quality and significantly improved zoom capabilities, according to the release.
This is the second major update for Planitar’s iGuide system in 2024. In January, it released iGuide Instant to further cut capture times and improve the user experience, but still uses the company’s high-end Planix camera system. However, it allows photographers and creators to generate content in around 20 minutes for less than $8.00.
Planitar executives said the R1 system retails for $2,499 US and $3,399 CDN. Planitar is based in Ontario, in the city of Waterloo.
