Avatour Hardware

Yes. Avatour uses industry-standard encryption for all visual and auditory content captured during the meeting.
‍Click here for more information on Avatour privacy and security, or contact us directly.

Absolutely. Unlike wired conference-room 360 cameras, Avatour is designed to move. Avatour uses off-the-shelf compatible 360° cameras, which are lightweight and battery powered, and can be easily carried throughout a site or facility. Typically they operate for 45 minutes with built-in power, or over 4 hours with our recommended external battery pack. Audio is usually provided using a Bluetooth headset.

Not at all. Avatour is designed to share the context of a single location with remote users located anywhere. The 360° camera is located on site, and is used to either provide a live connection or to capture 360° video for later review. Remote users can join using a standard web browser on a computer or mobile device, with the option to use a VR headset or an Igloo Immersive Room.

Up to 20 remote participants can join the meeting using a standard web browser on a smartphone, tablet, or computer, with the option to use a VR headset or an Igloo. With our optional Webinar feature, up to 30 participants can join in a non-interactive fashion (no webcam or audio).

No, WiFi connection is not needed at the inspection site; several alternative options are available.

Cellular service works well in many situations. 4G LTE cellular service is generally sufficient for uplink in the 2-6mbps range. We recommend the use of 5G where available, as uplink is generally more robust and higher bandwidth.

Starlink satellite service can be used to establish connections in many places where no cellular service is available. Avatour generally works well with Starlink connections, although throughput varies widely on the Starlink network, which can impact visual quality.

For sites where no Internet connection of any sort is available, our Quick Capture recording can be used to capture 360 content. The recorded video can be later uploaded to the Avatour system for individual or group review.

‍Click here for more information on Avatour connectivity requirements and how to assess connectivity at your site.

For live sessions, Avatour works with most Internet connections, although the requirements are different for the on-site Operator and the remote Participants.
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For the Operator, uplink is most important. Avatour delivers an acceptable experience when streaming video at 2mbps, and maximum quality at 10mbps. Our system manages low bandwidth by reducing frame rate, preserving visual quality as much as possible. When specifying link capacity, a good rule of thumb is to target capacity of at least twice the streaming bitrate, to accommodate other traffic and overhead. Downlink bandwidth requirements are lower and usually not an issue if sufficient uplink is available.

For the Participant side, it’s best if the user’s downlink capacity is at least double the Operator’s uplink rate. However, the Avatour system will dynamically accommodate lower Participant bitrates by transcoding the 360 stream, so connections as low as 2mbps are workable, albeit with lower quality. 1mbps uplink is sufficient for Remote Participants.

For the most current information on which 360° cameras Avatour supports and recommends, click here. You might also be interested in this article on how does a 360 degree camera work.