They hardly left any room for a bag of chips or an apple in there.

4/22/2021 (Permalink)

Have you ever partaken in a virtual home walkthrough? How about Google Earth? Have you ever wondered how those beautiful, lush images were captured in such stunning detail and depth? No? That’s okay. You’re thinking about it now!

I can quell this newly-found curiosity of yours. SERVPRO of Hesperia/Apple Valley and SERVPRO of Barstow/Twentynine Palms has begun using the very same technology that real estate agents and major conglomerates like Google use on a regular basis. It is known as a 360 Cam or “Matterport” by brand name. The camera is essentially shaped like an old fashioned lunchbox, assuming your lunchbox was filled with thousands of dollars’ worth of expensive photography technology inside. The camera has two sets of lenses; three vertically aligned infrared lenses and three vertically aligned camera lenses. The IR lenses act as “depth of field” scanners, essentially shooting beams of IR light across an area to determine the dimensions of a room, including all objects in said room. The camera lenses fire off simultaneously, capturing high-definition images to accompany the depth scan. The images and depth are then combined internally to create a 3-D rendering of an environment. The camera spins using an internal motor while mounted on a tripod, allowing for a full 360-degree scan. The camera can be moved up to six feet after every scan, allowing it to “stitch together” the images, creating a digital blueprint that they call a “Dollhouse” view.

As you can imagine, this is an insanely valuable tool for insurance adjustors, homeowners, and the crew working on the project. Measurements can be drawn from these images, as they are touted to be true to size within an inch.

SERVPRO of Hesperia/Apple Valley and SERVPRO of Barstow/Twentynine Palms uses this tool on all large-scale losses we work on, ensuring that we cover our bases and stay up to date on the latest technological innovations our industry has to offer. It’s just one more way we can help to make it “Like it never even happened.”