Irish tech firm uses VR to transform public consultations

A major innovation introduced by an Irish visualisation company is set to transform the way proposers of projects, such as wind farms, engage with local communities and stakeholders.

Innovision, which is based in Strandhill, Co Sligo, is the first company in Ireland to create innovative Virtual Reality (VR) visualisations, using real location imagery, for proposed developments.

Using VR headsets, stakeholders can immerse themselves in a full 360º view of the current landscape before switching to a visualisation of the same landscape with the proposed project in place.

This way of presenting projects can allay concerns of community groups and other stakeholders and provides a real sense of what the final development will look like.

This new approach to visualisation changes the way proposers of projects can engage with the local community, putting their projects on a firm footing from the start.

Innovision’s VR visualisation has already been used on a number of projects across Ireland, including a Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID) wind farm.

Most large-scale developments require some form of visualisations depicting how they will look and sit in the landscape. Wind Energy Development guidelines emphasise the importance of developers engaging with the public from an early stage to help them understand the impacts of their proposals.

Innovision is a visualisation and mapping consultancy which provides a full range of photomontage, visualisation, mapping and GIS services for developments from residential, office and retail spaces to renewable energy, infrastructure and large-scale engineering projects.

However, its latest innovation can be viewed alongside — or instead of — paper-based print visualisation, greatly enhancing stakeholder understanding of the impact a project will have on their local environment.

John Flanagan, founder of Innovision, said: 

“Many large projects are difficult for people to comprehend or visualise, even with the paper-based print visualisation in front of them. The VR headsets immerse them in the location and show them the real impact of the development and in many cases, the impact is less than they imagined.

“Securing planning for wind energy projects is a long and difficult process and community engagement is crucial to its success. With our VR visualisation, developers can give communities a real sense of what the proposed project will look like, gaining their trust from the start.”

Innovision’s range of services includes Verified Photomontage, Virtual Reality Tours, Online Photomontage Viewers, Route Screening Studies, Glint & Glare Analysis for Solar PV, 360º Panoramic Photography, Theoretical Visibility Mapping (ZTV), Aerial Photomontage, Constraints Mapping, and UAV Surveys.