Research at Loughborough University has found that the larger British housing developers have an interest in web developments and Internet presence. Perusal of the trade press also shows an increase in the number of housing developers looking at new media to market properties. Today there are software companies that specialise in developing software specifically for housing developers, and CAD is used by many of the larger volume housebuilders. Virtual Reality techniques can also be used for marketing in conjunction with both the Internet and new media technologies. This has been created using digital images of an existent building which have been stitched together into a QuickTime VR navigable movie.
Hotspots create hyperlinks between different rooms and viewing locations.
Working with a leading British housing developer, a pilot visualisation project was undertaken to assess the potential of virtual reality. CAD data relating to a standard housetype was obtained from the housing developer, and a virtual model of that housetype was then created. Superscape model showing the standard housetype at different locations in a site layout. Experimentation into methods for putting together virtual models was undertaken. Three different models of a housing scheme have been produced, using different modelling techniques.