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VR Platform Offers Solution to COVID-19 Travel Restrictions

March 12, 2020
Real-time, real-world, immersive communication allows people to be in two places at once—saving time and money, and getting the job done without travel.

A new communications technology is helping tech-forward companies respond to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The AVATOUR remote presence platform, created by San Francisco startup Imeve, employs the latest virtual reality technology to transport users to a remote location in real-time, providing a new and effective substitute for travel. Shenzhen-based camera maker Insta360 builds the 360-deg. cameras that make AVATOUR possible. Together, the two companies are providing a new alternative for business people who find themselves suddenly unable to visit facilities worldwide.

AVATOUR is a cloud service that enables real-time, multi-user, 360-deg. remote presence. Ken Minn, CEO of smartphone accessory company Kenu, was one of the first to use AVATOUR to virtually visit a manufacturing partner in China. “Before the coronavirus, someone from our team would be in China at least once a month,” said Minn. “The outbreak has been pretty disruptive, as we were hoping to ship a new product immediately after Lunar New Year. With AVATOUR, we are able to walk through the entire factory with our Chinese partners to review progress, just as if we’re there. In some ways it’s even better than before—now I can visit anytime without the jet lag.”

AVATOUR integrates with Insta360’s ONE X camera, enabling realistic, live, 4K 360-deg. capture with an intuitive, palm-sized device. AVATOUR has been in development for two years, and in beta since Fall 2019; this new joint offering with Insta360 marks the first commercial release of the platform.

“As more companies and countries limit or halt travel, businesses worldwide are being forced to find remote working solutions. Videoconferencing platforms like Zoom and Skype can replace a conference room, but until now, there was no substitute for location-dependent meetings like facility walkthroughs, site inspections, and site-specific training,” said Imeve CEO Devon Copley. “Using AVATOUR to visit a location alongside someone thousands of miles away feels more like an in-person visit than a videoconference.”

The AVATOUR platform is available now to qualified companies in the United States, EU, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and China. After qualification, Insta360 will ship capture hardware directly to the facility, which will host AVATOUR sessions. Imeve provides remote visitors with VR headsets from Oculus/Facebook.