New virtual tour: Estonian University of Life Sciences

Completed in the summer of 2018 Virtual tour of the Estonian University of Life Sciences takes the viewer to a small town on the outskirts of Tartu, where five institutes and the most important aspects of university life are introduced. Through 360-degree photos and videos, those interested - whether they are abroad or here in Estonia - can get an idea of the university's premises, the equipment used for teaching and, in general, what the Estonian University of Life Sciences is like.

Virtual tour the bottom consists of 34 360-degree panoramic photos and three 360-degree videos. You can look into rooms that ordinary people cannot normally access - for example:

• Museum of Anatomy
• Soil Museum
• Laboratory of construction structures
• Tomography laboratory
• Plant Physiology Laboratory

From the other virtual tours made by TUUR, the virtual tour of the University of Life Sciences differs primarily in the use of 360-degree videos. We shot the videos specifically from such places and activities, where a photo would not have conveyed the nature of the activity taking place in that location well enough. For example, a lecturer in an electrical engineering laboratory conducted a classic experiment by passing an electric current through a pickle. It would not have been very effective in the photo, but through the video the viewer can experience the intensity of the glow, the smoke created by the burning process and also the sound. The viewing experience is much more complete.

These videos are shot with a special 360-degree camera in 8K resolution and then scaled down to 4K for online viewing. The use of 360-degree videos - especially outside of streaming environments (YouTube, Facebook) is still a fairly new technology and balances on the borderline of internet speeds and computer technology. Because of this, even these videos require a slightly more powerful computer or smart device to watch. At the same time, the tour is freely usable with any device, because if an older or weaker computer cannot play the video, the viewer is shown a photo taken from the same place instead of the video. Videos are taken from the following locations:

• Laboratory of electrical engineering
• Laboratory of pneumatics and hydraulics
• 3D landscape theater

The University of the Country now has a great tool to use to showcase the university to anyone who might be interested in coming to study here. Of course, this virtual tour is used in Estonia - passively on the website of the University of Life Sciences, in active marketing at various trade fairs, email exchanges, social media, etc. However, this virtual tour is especially useful for introducing the university abroad. Such a world-class virtual tour, which few universities in the world have, may help bring some foreign students to the rural university who would otherwise have chosen another country.

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