[The following article is reprinted with the permission of Matterport. It was originally posted by Matterport Vice President, Americas Chris Bahr to his LinkedIn page.]

Digital Twins Are Changing the Way We View the World

by Matterport Vice President, Americas Chris Bahr

Over the course of twenty years at IBM, I worked with software customers and drove the global sales success for multiple business units. Recently, I joined the team at Matterport — the leading spatial data company, on a mission to digitize and index the entire built world. Matterport’s unique and innovative 3D technology captured my attention, and the company’s leadership position in key industries and overall market opportunity won me over.

Matterport has the potential to literally change the way we experience the world around us, and that is an exciting prospect.

In fact, Matterport is well on its way to achieving its ultimate mission — with a library of over two million 3D models of properties from around the world. In this space, first mover advantage and scale are important. Like Google Maps and other services that benefit from network effects, each new 3D model makes our machine learning smarter and our artificial intelligence more robust for a variety of industries. Matterport’s 3D interactive models, or digital twins, are widely adopted across industries including residential and commercial real estate, insurance and restoration, travel and hospitality, retail and facilities management, as well as architecture, engineering and construction.

All over the world, Matterport’s digital twin technology is helping people become familiar with and make better, more informed decisions about buildings, spaces and places.

In the travel sector, Matterport’s technology is being utilized to make the experience more seamless, particularly traveling via aircraft. Imagine passengers “visiting” airline lounges, seeing their gate and making seat selections after taking an immersive 3D tour of the airport and the actual airplane being used for their flight. Operationally, imagine training crew members in an immersive and dimensionally-accurate 3D environment of an aircraft without keeping an airplane on the ground and out of service.

Matterport is also transforming how travelers experience spaces — hotels and rentals, prior to booking. Our virtual tours are photo-realistic and spatially accurate, so guests know that what they're seeing online is actually what they can anticipate in real life. The first physical visit will validate their initial perception. With more realistic expectations, guests have more confidence in the process and are more likely to convert to a booking.

In the insurance space, Matterport has significantly influenced the method for processing insurance claims for damaged properties. Filing an insurance claim is an arduous process. Photography and videos are tools that can be utilized, but they don't provide nuance, which is why property owners are turning to immersive 3D models from Matterport to freeze frame the damage to their properties. This enables them to pick up the pieces faster and leads to substantial process and cost efficiencies.

The same can be said for residential real estate. Matterport’s digital twin technology cuts down the amount of time a listing is on the market, and creates a more efficient transaction for all parties. According to Redfin, homes sell an average of ten days faster and for $50,000 more than comparable homes thanks to virtual walkthroughs.

It’s not hard to foresee a day when the real estate buying process is further accelerated by digital appraisals and valuations. Why should an expert appraiser spend valuable time commuting from property to property when they can invest their time evaluating digital twins of properties from any internet connected device anywhere?

Just this past September, Matterport announced integration with smartphones, opening up infinite possibilities for widespread adoption of 3D capture. This is an exciting time for Matterport — and I’m thrilled to play a role in the growth and evolution of a recognized category leader that is shaping a new way for us to experience built spaces.

Seeing is believing.

For additional information and use case examples please see below.

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Design, Build, Operate
For commercial real estate owners, general contractors and design build firms.

Save time and money with digital twins of your assets, and increase your firm's ability to make smart decisions, faster. Create digital twins as a single source of truth for all stakeholders involved in a commercial building. Increase accountability within your organization, and provide your teams with measurable successes remotely. Establish and maintain an archived library of past projects, to reduce conflict between stakeholders for long term sustainability and trust.

✓ North Side Emergency Dept: In Wall Documentation
✓ Willis Tower Demo: Completed Lounge

Insurance - Insure and Repair
For commercial properties and high-net worth homes, it is critical for insurance carriers to understand the value of the property and the risks associated with it in order to adequately cover damages and determine premiums, as well as to conduct risk-mitigating loss control activities. When disaster strikes, multiple stakeholders are required to inspect the property damage.

✓ Mechanical Engineering Plumbing Room
✓ Total fire loss in a duplex

We are eager to connect to discuss how Matterport’s 3D digital twins can help you to save time and money.

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[This article is reprinted with the permission of Matterport. It was originally posted by Matterport Vice President, Americas Chris Bahr to his LinkedIn page.]