Interactive Pictures Corp., a provider of
immersive imaging for the Internet, said that Renaissance Cruises has selected
its IPIX technology to create virtual tours of its cruise ships, in
conjunction with the launch of a new multimedia Web site.
The 360-degree IPIX images allow future cruise passengers to explore
Renaissance Cruises ships from stem to stern.
Financial arrangements were not
disclosed.
Interactive Pictures’ IPIX technology delivers an immersive photograph that
allows viewers to “step inside” an IPIX image, looking in any direction from
left to right and floor to ceiling, and feel as if they are actually in the
picture.
Renaissance Cruises’ virtual tours offer IPIX images of each ship,
allowing viewers to virtually visit staterooms and suites, dining rooms and
restaurants, pools and public areas
“IPIX technology provides an interactive and content rich means to showcase
the amenities of Renaissance cruise ships,” said Interactive Pictures
Chairman and CEO Jim Phillips. “This new site is going to raise the bar for
IPIX Virtual Tours in the travel and leisure industry.”
Interactive Pictures and bamboo.com recently announced a definitive
agreement to merge.
The deal positions the company to be a key
provider of interactive imagery for the Internet, serving the real estate,
travel and hospitality, e-commerce, electronic publishing, education and
entertainment markets.
With technology originally developed on behalf of NASA and the U.S.
Department of Energy as a means to provide total remote viewing of hazardous
environments, an IPIX image places viewers in the center of a picture and
allows them to navigate the environment in real time as if they were
teleported into that space.