Tadcaster pool
Virtual Tour + Digital Twin of community pool
Business: Tadcaster Community Pool
location: Tadcaster
Sector: Leisure
Area: 14500 Sqft.
Scan Time: 8 hours
The Brief
We provided the Tadcaster community pool and gym with two distinct virtual tours created from the same innovative digital twin technology. One of these virtual tours was designed as a public showcase to highlight the facility's various offerings, while the second served as a facilities management tool aimed at training their dedicated staff.
The primary goal of the public virtual tour was to enhance awareness among community members about the diverse amenities available at the facility, ensuring that potential visitors could appreciate what was on offer. Additionally, this virtual tour was thoughtfully crafted to provide a convenient and accessible option for schools, clubs, and event planners, allowing them to conduct risk assessments and make informed bookings based on the features and layout of the facility.
Virtual tour to Showcase facilities
Virtual tour to assist facilities management + training + digital twin
Promoting activities + training pool
Promote gym + cafe
The Project
Tadcaster community pool represents, on a regional level, a prominent platform of excellence for community pool facilities, which is frequently used as a benchmark example for other community pools to follow and aspire to. Its commitment to high standards and best practices serves to inspire similar facilities in surrounding areas.
A Matterport virtual tour has been proposed as an excellent opportunity for the facility to showcase its pool area remotely, while also effectively promoting the overall amenities and offerings of the facility. This innovative solution would allow potential visitors to explore the pool’s features and ambiance from the comfort of their own homes, increasing engagement and interest in what the facility has to offer.
What was required
Tadcaster Community pool requested two virtual tours to assist them with promoting the facility and training staff. One available day to scan on site was proposed where the facility was closed in early January.
The first virtual tour was carefully designed to showcase the facility to the public, various stakeholders, and other community pools located throughout the UK.
The second virtual tour served a dual purpose: it aimed to provide staff with a comprehensive visual training experience for onboarding new employees, as well as becoming a valuable asset for facilities management to utilize in the effective management and oversight of the building itself.
A digital twin of the building's interior was requested, serving as a comprehensive digital representation that allows the management team to acquire detailed information, such as precise dimensions or a point cloud 3D model. This innovative tool is essential for future-proofing drawing data, particularly through architectural design or potential renovations, ensuring that the team has accurate and updated information at their fingertips.
What the challenges were
The pool serves as a highly successful public facility that accommodates a diverse range of visitors, remaining busy at all times throughout the week, including all seven days, with eager and enthusiastic swimmers commencing their activities as early as 6 am each morning. In light of this, a day was proposed when the pool would be closed temporarily for essential staff training conducted off-site during the early days of January.
The process of scanning out of standard operating hours during the winter months meant that we were dealing with the intricate transition from the dark night sky to the soft light of sunrise. It was therefore crucial to maintain visual consistency throughout the scanning process without losing the precious natural lighting of the various spaces involved.
There are inherent scanning limitations when dealing with expansive, large open areas such as bodies of water, where the camera simply cannot be positioned effectively to capture the necessary details and angles.
The privacy of data remains a top priority, and it is essential to limit the visibility of certain parts of the building within the public tour. This restriction is necessary to maintain overall experience quality without negatively impacting the management tour of the facility itself.
What we did
LOGISTICS - A full day of comprehensive scanning was provided on site to minimize any potential impact on daily operations, as we strategically scheduled the work when the facility was empty during a public holiday and coinciding off-site staff training day. This careful planning allowed for an extremely efficient way to complete the extensive scanning of the entire building in just one day. The facility was meticulously prepared by the dedicated staff, with all annual decorations removed and the space made perfect overnight, while being thoroughly and professionally cleaned in preparation for the scanning process. In addition a CAD plan of the facility was provided to allow V.T.N.E. to assess the most efficient scanning path ahead of the scan date, this allowed the client to fully appreciate how long the scanning would take and where we would be at a given time on site.
LARGE OPEN SPACES - Swimming pools often come with their own unique set of challenges, particularly when dealing with large volume spaces. Utilizing the advanced capabilities of the Matterport Pro 3 camera, we are able to effectively capture expansive areas and gather point cloud scanning data from multiple positions around the perimeter of a pool. This process is conducted in a manner that does not compromise user experience or the integrity of the scanning data. The outcome is a user-friendly showcase experience of the pool that captures all the intricate details associated with being there, providing viewers with a vivid and immersive representation of the environment.
DAYLIGHT - The suggested day for scanning ultimately encountered several issues due to the presence of limited natural light, which posed a challenge. To address this, we collaborated closely with the client to identify specific areas they wanted to highlight that would benefit from natural light and those sections that could still be effectively scanned even in lower light conditions. In addition to carefully considering the logistics involved, we developed a comprehensive scanning plan and route that would optimize the available daylight while also minimizing the time spent on-site for scanning.
PUBLIC vs ADMIN TOUR -To effectively provide the client with a comprehensive public virtual tour alongside a facilities management virtual tour, we proposed to meticulously scan the entire facility as a singular, cohesive digital twin. This approach involves capturing the public spaces at greater distances between scanning points to ensure an enjoyable and immersive user experience. Simultaneously, we will focus on capturing the management spaces with a higher level of detail to significantly assist with the intricacies of facilities management. A sophisticated digital twin of the entire building will be provided to allow for the greatest flexibility in navigation and accessibility, without compromising either the public user experience or the overall usability of the facilities management tour. This method ensures that all aspects of the facility are represented effectively and interactively.
A duplicate virtual tour was created off the digital twin and access provided to the client to allow for specialist information to be added to the admin tour, this was further enhanced by adding tags to all the complex plant room equipment to assist with training and facilities management.
The Result
Engaging and informative 360 Virtual Tour of Tadcaster community pool (public version)