Immersive imagery usually situates the viewer at the centre of a sphere where the entire view can be seen. This can be static, for example the inside of a an opera house or dynamic where a video is used.

This kind of imagery relies on a particular type of panorama which has a horizontal field of view of 360° (so that you can see all around) and a vertical field of view of 180° so that you can see both the floor and the ceiling, or the ground and the sky!

Immersive imagery can also make use of partial panoramas, where, for example part of the scene is of less interest and thus not included – an example of this is the view from the circle of the Elgin Opera House.

There are many uses for immersive imagery: allowing “visits” to places that are normally closed; previewing a landmark to visit; seeing the inside of a house for real estate sales; even allowing walkthroughs for fire fighters and rescue teams in industrial settings.

Making immersive images ranges from relatively simple to fairly complex depending on the accuracy and detail required.