Special Reports

Change The Way You Shop, Vacation With EveryScape

BOSTON (WBZ) ― Some people here in Massachusetts are working to change the way you shop, the way you plan a vacation -- even the way you eat out.

There is a little company in Waltham that has some big plans for making virtual reality even more realistic.

Retailers and tourist destinations hope you will take a virtual tour of their site, in this case, checking out Michelson's shoes on Mass. Ave. in Lexington. "I saw it as the next step in online tools that I could use for my business," said Jerry Michelson of Michelson's shoes.

They hope that you like it so much that you'll make a trip into the store and start spending your money.

Shortsleeve: When you saw your store online, did you feel like you were walking into your store?

Michelson: Oh sure, this is Michelson's shoes. As you can see here, and online it's the same feeling.

Michelson helped get all of Lexington onto a new Web site called EveryScape.com. It's taking virtual tours to a whole new level.

EveryScape CEO Jim Schoonmaker says the goal is to get shoppers to experience stores like Michelson's before they leave their house. "It's not video, it's really an immersive experience, its a very realistic photorealistic experience."

Four photographs -- each spanning 180 degrees -- are merged digitally. Computer algorithms then manipulate those images, allowing you to navigate a new virtual world. EveryScape.com hopes that's just the beginning. "What we will be doing in subsequent releases is the ability to actually tag this environment with user generated photographs and videos and things like that."

EveryScape.com has been operating for a couple of months now and will continue to add new locations.

A store like Michelson's pays a couple of hundred dollars a year and will have it's tour changed seasonally.

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