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Glossary

the key terms in our industry.

3D visualization, VR, 360°, AI staging — the vocabulary is wide and most explanations are marketing fluff. Here you'll find the clear definitions we use ourselves — short, precise, no buzzwords.

3D Visualization

Also: 3D Rendering · 3D Architectural Visualization · Architectural Visualization

Photorealistic computer graphics that generate an unbuilt building, interior, or product from 3D models. Used in architecture and property developer marketing to make projects visible before construction begins — for advertising material, sales brochures, and regulatory submissions. A typical exterior visualization takes 5–10 working days and costs between EUR 750 and EUR 5,000 per image in Austria.

Related: 3D Visualization Service , BAB-compliant

Architectural Visualization

Also: ArchViz · Architecture Rendering

Synonym for 3D visualization with a focus on building and urban-space depictions. Architectural visualizations are produced from the architect's CAD plans (DWG, IFC, Revit) and refined with textures, lighting, and vegetation into photorealistic images. In Austria, mandatory BAB-compliant production is required for advertising material.

Related: What is BAB-compliant?

3D Property Viewer

Also: Interactive 3D Model · 3D Property Configurator

Web-based interactive 3D model of a construction project where prospects can explore apartments, compare floor plans, check availability, and inquire directly. Makes sense from around 12 residential units upward. Embedded into the project website (iframe or web component). threesixty.at built, for example, the 73,000 m² VIECON viewer (Vienna trade fair).

Related: 3D Property Viewer Service

Virtual Tour

Also: Virtual Tour · 360° Tour · Walkthrough

A walkable 360° tour where the viewer clicks from viewpoint to viewpoint and explores each room in all directions from that spot. Created from real 360° photos (existing properties) or from 3D data (new construction). Works in the browser, on smartphones, and in VR headsets. Difference from 360° video: exploratory instead of linearly narrated.

Related: Virtual Tour Service , 360° Video

360° Video

Also: 360-Degree Video · 360 Video · Immersive Video

360° motion picture with a linear timeline that films in every direction. During playback, the viewer can freely choose the viewing angle but cannot navigate through space. Used for recruiting, location presentations, training, and construction-progress documentation. threesixty.at produced, for example, the Austrian Armed Forces recruiting video inside the Eurofighter cockpit.

Related: 360° Video Service

Virtual Reality (VR)

Also: VR · Fully Immersive 3D

Fully immersive 3D presentation with a VR headset (Meta Quest, Apple Vision Pro, HTC Vive). The user moves freely through a simulated environment and interacts via hand tracking or controllers. Used for trade fairs, showrooms, training, and sales presentations. Difference from a virtual tour: VR is 6DoF (six degrees of freedom of movement), a tour is 3DoF (viewing direction only).

Related: VR Service , Spatial Computing

Spatial Computing

Also: Mixed Reality · Spatial Computer Use

Umbrella term for technologies that place digital content spatially within physical space — visible through devices like Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest 3, HoloLens. Unlike pure VR, spatial computing blends virtual content with the real environment. Relevant for architecture and real estate because floor plans, furniture, or material samples can be placed in the room at true scale.

Related: Apple Vision Pro

Apple Vision Pro

Also: Vision Pro · visionOS

Apple's spatial computing headset released in 2024, running the visionOS operating system. Displays content in extremely high resolution (4K per eye) and supports hand and eye tracking without controllers. threesixty.at released Spatial Player Pro — one of the first Austrian architecture and real estate apps for Vision Pro in the Apple App Store.

Related: Spatial Player Pro

AI Virtual Staging

Also: AI Staging · AI Furnishing · AI Home Staging

AI-generated furnishing of photos of empty properties — the room itself stays original, while sofas, tables, and plants are added. Faster and cheaper than classical 3D staging: upload a photo, pick a style, get a result in minutes. Particularly attractive for property developers, property management companies, and existing-property marketing teams. threesixty.at runs its own AI staging platform with Magic (magic.threesixty.at), featuring 10 modules.

Related: Magic Platform , 3D Home Staging

3D Home Staging

Also: Digital Home Staging · Virtual Home Staging

Digital furnishing of empty existing properties using classical 3D rendering (before the AI era). Introduced as a service by hubmer³ (predecessor brand of threesixty.at) as early as 2014. Today largely replaced by AI virtual staging — the method is faster and cheaper, and the result is comparable.

Related: AI Virtual Staging

BAB-compliant (Austrian Property Developer Standards)

Also: BAB Property Developer · BAB Marketing

Compliance with the Austrian property developer requirements (Bauträgervertragsgesetz, BAB) for advertising material. Specifically: renderings must be clearly labeled as such (not as photographs), unconfirmed fittings must be identifiable, and dimensions must match the approved construction plans. All renderings by threesixty.at are produced BAB-compliant.

Related: Full-Service Marketing

Google Street View Trusted

Also: Street View Pro · GSV Trusted Photographer

Official Google certification program for photographers permitted to publish 360° interior shots directly into Google Maps and Google Business Profile. Requirements include technical minimum standards, certified 360° camera hardware, and a passed quality check by Google. threesixty.at is registered as a certified Trusted Photographer for interior shots, based in Graz.

Related: Google Street View Service

Real-Time Rendering

Also: Realtime Rendering · Interactive Rendering

Computation of photorealistic 3D images in real time (60+ frames per second) — a prerequisite for interactive applications such as property viewers, VR, and web 3D configurators. In contrast to classical "offline rendering" (which takes minutes to hours per image), real-time rendering uses GPU engines like Unreal Engine, Unity, Three.js, or Babylon.js. threesixty.at uses real-time rendering wherever the user interacts.

Related: 3D Property Viewer

WebGL / WebXR

Also: Web 3D · Browser 3D

Browser standards for rendering 3D graphics (WebGL) and VR/AR experiences (WebXR) without plugins or app installs. This makes it possible to embed property viewers, product configurators, and virtual tours directly into any website — working across desktop, smartphone, and VR headset (Quest Browser, Vision Pro Safari). All interactive 3D tools by threesixty.at are WebGL-based.

Related: 3D Product Viewer

Exterior vs Interior Rendering

Also: Exterior vs Interior · Outdoor vs Indoor Visualization

Two categories of 3D architectural visualization: Exterior shows the outside view of a building with surroundings, lighting mood, and vegetation — typical for property developer advertising material. Interior shows an interior space with furnishings and materials — typical for show-apartment visualizations, material studies, and atmosphere studies. Interior renderings in Austria typically cost EUR 750–1,500 per image, exterior renderings EUR 1,500–5,000.

Related: 3D Visualization Service

Spatial Audio

Also: Ambisonics · 3D Audio · Immersive Audio

Audio recording technique that captures sound spatially relative to the camera position. Combined with a 360° video this means: when the viewer turns their head, the direction of the sound turns with it. We record with ambisonics microphones — typically 4-channel first-order or higher. Without spatial audio, 360° video feels flat; with it, true immersion emerges.

Related: 360° Video Service

Stitching

Also: Image Stitching · 360 Stitching

360° cameras record with multiple lenses simultaneously (typically 2, 4, or 6). Stitching is the digital process by which these individual images are computed into a seamless 360° sphere. Poor stitching produces visible seams, duplicated people, or distorted regions. Professional stitching is a dedicated post-production step using specialized software.

Equirectangular Projection

Also: Sphere Panorama · 360 Pano

Standard image format for 360° content. A sphere is unwrapped onto a rectangle (typically 2:1 aspect ratio) — like a world map. Looks distorted as a flat image but is rendered correctly as a spherical view in any 360° player. YouTube, Facebook 360, and all VR players expect this format.

Tripod Removal / Nadir Patch

Also: Nadir Patch · Tripod Retouching · Stativ-Retusche

In 360° shots, the tripod beneath the camera is captured in the image — as a small spot at the bottom (nadir). Tripod removal eliminates it in post-production by cloning the floor, placing a logo, or applying a vignette. Straightforward for static 360° photos, more involved for 360° video because it has to be applied per frame.

HDR (High Dynamic Range)

Also: High Contrast · Tone Mapping

Capture technique that records significantly more brightness values than a normal photo. Important for 360° interior shots where windows (very bright) and shadows (very dark) appear in the same frame. HDR plus tone mapping prevents blown-out highlights and crushed shadows. Standard for professional 360° photography.

Color Grading

Also: Color Correction · Look Development

Post-production step in which the colors, contrast, and mood of a video are tuned. Especially important in 360° productions because multiple lenses record slightly differently — color grading ensures a uniform look across the entire sphere. Identical to classical film post-production, just 360°-aware.

Photorealism

Also: Photorealistic Rendering · Realistic CGI

The ambition in 3D visualization that the rendering should be indistinguishable from a photograph. Achieved through physically correct lighting (path tracing), real material data (PBR textures), accurate tonal values, and lens emulation. Standard at threesixty.at for all renderings — anyone using 3D images in sales wants them to read like professional photographs.

Hotspot / Info Layer

Also: Click Point · Interactive Marker

A clickable point in a 360° tour or 3D viewer. When clicked, an overlay opens with text, images, videos, or links to the next scene. Turns a passive walkthrough into an interactive experience — buyers can explore features, components, or rooms in a targeted way.

Product Configurator

Also: 3D Configurator · Variant Selector

Interactive 3D viewer that lets the user choose variants: colors, materials, components, accessories. The model updates live. Common in e-commerce, furniture retail, vehicle configuration, and architecture (apartment fit-out). For Shape Wakeboards we built around 200 obstacles as a configurable system.

Related: 3D Product Viewer

glTF / GLB

Also: 3D Web Format

Open 3D file format (Khronos Group), developed for efficient web rendering — like JPEG for 3D. glTF is text-based (.gltf plus assets), GLB is the binary single-file variant. Supported by virtually all modern web 3D viewers (model-viewer, three.js, Babylon.js). Apple Quick Look (AR on iOS) uses a related USDZ variant.

CAD Data

Also: STEP · IGES · OBJ · FBX · STL · DWG · DXF · 3DM · IFC · BIM · Engineering Data

Computer-Aided Design files from engineering software. Source material for our 3D visualization work. Construction and real estate: DWG and DXF (AutoCAD, standard for building and interior fit-out), 3DM (Rhino, common with architects and interior designers), IFC as the BIM exchange format (Revit, ArchiCAD, AllPlan — carries component semantics alongside geometry). Industry and product: STEP (mechanical, with geometry plus metadata), IGES (older but broadly compatible), OBJ (universal, no hierarchy), FBX (with animation), STL (triangle mesh, common for 3D printing). The cleaner the CAD data, the faster the visualization.

Kiosk Mode

Also: Trade Show Display · Fullscreen Mode

Full-screen display mode for trade-show appearances or permanent installations: no browser chrome, no mouse cursor, automatic reset after inactivity, touch-optimized. Standard setup for our 3D product viewers and VR stations at trade fairs. Spatial Player Pro has kiosk mode as a core feature.

Spatial Video

Also: Apple Spatial · 3D Video for Vision Pro

Stereoscopic video format introduced by Apple with the iPhone 15 Pro and Apple Vision Pro. Two cameras record simultaneously — the resulting file plays back on Vision Pro as a spatial 3D video. Difference from 360° video: spatial shows a framed segment with depth, not a full sphere. Spatial Player Pro supports both formats.

Compositing

Also: 3D Composite · Rendering Compositing

Post-production step in which a 3D rendering is matched into a real photograph (or vice versa). Common in real estate: the 3D-modeled construction project is composited onto a real drone shot of the plot. Reads photorealistically and shows the project in real context. Combines renderings with real shadows, reflections, and atmosphere.

NAP (Name, Address, Phone)

Also: NAP Consistency · Local SEO Basics

A local SEO fundamental: the exact business name, address, and phone number must be identical across every online source (Google Business Profile, Bing Places, the website, directories, social profiles). Even minor deviations (e.g. "GmbH" vs "GmbH & Co KG") cause Google to discount the signal. Critical primarily for local search rankings.

Google Business Profile (GBP)

Also: Google My Business · GBP

Free Google listing for businesses, with address, opening hours, reviews, photos, posts, and Q&A. Appears at the top of local search results inside the map preview (Local Pack). A well-maintained GBP with current 360° interior shots, 4+ star reviews, and complete photo coverage ranks significantly better than an empty profile.

Related: Google Street View Service

Local Pack

Also: Map Pack · Google 3-Pack

The first three Google Business Profile listings that appear with the map at the top of local search results. Click-through rates in the Local Pack are 3–5x higher than for the regular results below. Ranking factors for the Local Pack: NAP consistency, review count and quality, photo completeness (including 360° interior shots), post activity, and Q&A.

Drone Photography / Aerial Shots

Also: Aerial Photography · Aerial Video · Drone Footage

Photo or video shot from the air with a professional drone (typically DJI Inspire, Mavic 3 Pro Cine). Valuable in the property developer context for: aerial shots as a compositing base for 3D renderings, construction-progress documentation, and sales brochures. Austria has strict drone regulations (class C0–C2, A1/A2 certification, mandatory insurance). We produce with an operator certificate.

3D Floor Plan

Also: Isometric Floor Plan · Rendered Floor Plan

Visualization of an apartment or house from above in 3D, furnished and to scale. Unlike a classical 2D floor plan, it shows room height, furnishings, and lighting. Property developers use 3D floor plans as a sales argument for standard apartment types — the buyer understands within seconds what they are getting.

Last updated: Q2 2026 · Missing or unclear term? Get in touch — we'll add it.