WinnVision: A breakthrough in virtual reality tours

History might be in the making as, perhaps for the the first time, the words "bleeding edge" are being used in the same sentence as "recreational vehicle."

And with the introduction of WinnVision the two terms fit nicely together. What is WinnVision? It's a virtual reality tour technology unlike anything else. WinnVision comes from the heart of Silicon Valley and can now be seen on many of the Winnebago.com product pages.

The term virtual reality has a wide meaning. It can describe the ability to move around an image using a two-dimensional view such as on a computer screen or tablet. It also describes wearing stereoscopic headsets for viewing images in full 3D. The WinnVision technology does both. However, 3D headsets are still pretty new and not yet a household necessity. Today the most common way to view VR files is on your computer, tablet or smartphone.

A WinnVision image is created with a special scanning camera that uses 9 lenses and rotates 360 degrees during an exposure. After one exposure is taken, the scanning camera is moved about three to four feet away and another image is made. The process is repeated from the front to the back of the coach.

Never seen before: A transparent 3D view of a motorhome floorplan.

After all the images have been shot, the files are uploaded to a special processing server that creates four different kinds of files. The first is the walk-through image, the second is a "dollhouse" which shows the inside of the coach looking out. The third is a down-looking floorplan view, and the fourth is a 3D version for headsets.

Every circle is a viewpoint where you can look up, down, and all around.

Two things set the WinnVision technology apart from prior technologies. The first is the exceptional detail. You can seen woodgrains, fabric textures, and fine print of coach controls in every image. The second advantage is the naturalistic display of perspective. Previous VR technologies really distorted angles and didn't give you a good sense of proportion. With WinnVision, that problem has largely been solved.

It's magic. A topdown view of a floorplan based on the interior photo scans.

Today, there are over 20 coach interiors on the Winnebago product web site and the plan is to ultimately have 3D images of every available floorplan. When you're viewing a WinnVision image you'll see a series of circles. These are your navigation viewpoints and the actual location of where the scanning camera was placed. For a really impressive experience you can enlarge the image to full screen by clicking on the frame box in the lower right had corner. You can navigate through the image either with your arrow cursor keys or mouse/trackpad. If you're on a phone or tablet, simply tap and drag your finger.

Now there's nothing that's going to replace visiting a dealer or RV show, walking through a floorplan, or test driving a coach, but WinnVision offers a dramatic step up in the research and evaluation phase. Unlike passively watching a video, you can actively choose where and what you want to look at. Where's the towel bar mounted? You can see it. How many burner controls on the front of the range? You can count them. How many drawers in the dresser? Walk back into the bedroom to find out.

Amazing detail shows surfaces and textures.

When the company rolled out WinnVision at the national RV show in Louisville in December 2015, the feedback was instantly positive. Click on the link below and you'll soon know why.

Click here to go to a product page and look for the gallery image with a 3D wireframe overlay.