Matterport is a service and set of authoring tools that generates virtual representations of spaces from 360-degree images and allows their publication. Those spaces can be “stitched” together, allowing contiguous rooms to be added onto a map. In common with many spatial scanning solutions, it’s primarily aimed at the real estate market – but is demonstrably more advanced in a number of features. The platform accepts a range of inputs, but the easiest workflow uses a dedicated mobile app, that supports 360 capture using hardware capabilities of the phone it’s installed on. The processed outputs are:
- A 360-degree “preview” scan
- Photogrammetric model and map derived from the scan
- A floor plan of the space
- Automatically generated volumetric measurements of the space
- A 360-degree “space” using data from all of the above
I’ve used Matterport to capture interior and exterior spaces. It works well with the latter (which makes sense, given that it’s optimised for real estate tours) but poorly with the former. Photogrammetry, in general, works best with and for objects and interiors. The mobile app has scanning and storage capabilities but must be teamed with a Matterport account, which adds cloud storage and annotation capabilities. There is a limited free version that enables mobile users to generate 3D scans and share a single “active space” online.
Feelings
I came across Matterport when looking for tour creators, which again are a volatile category. It has the virtue of being stable in this regard. I first used it early in the process of research, before the release of tools like Polycam, and it was then unique in its conversion of 360 imagery to photogrammetric data.
However, the overt use of dark patterns to encourage subscription to the software, and the limitations built in are off=putting – and I found myself deleting, then reinstalling the software on more than one occasion.
A final straw was that after one subscription cycle, the software would not allow me to return to the “free” tier at all and became useless (until i created another account).
Evaluation
Matterport is frustrating in that the surface tools are potentially applicable to an iteration of immersive journalism. It allows users to create spaces with volumetric depth, from real spaces, using simple hardware. The processes for stitching these spaces together is simple – and complex spaces can be mapped on layers or “floor levels” relatively easily.
However, the software is a closed eco-system. The data can be exported into reusable formats – but with the purchase of add-ons only. I am not saying that the software is not useful because it is commercial, but because it is software mostly conceived for a specific purpose.
Application
There are some potential journalistic applications for Matterport – through the scanning of interior spaces and “marking up” these with “notes” – a feature that enables users to add descriptive cards to 3D scenes. However, a combination of PolyCam and Sketchfab allow for far superior output of similar content.
Conclusions
Matterport is frustrating for someone searching for software to translate the real world into the virtual. Its focus on real estate, software as a service, and features as modular add-ons leaves a bad taste. However, its initial workflow, generating 3D interiors with depth from 360 scans, was unmatched until Polycam added Lidar support. It was an interesting tool early in the study but, ultimately, a dead end.