Case Studies
3D virtual tours for property marketing: XGRIDS PortalCam
Discover how XGRIDS PortalCam helps estate agents and hospitality teams produce photo-realistic 3D virtual tours for modern property marketing.
Learn how XGRIDS PortalCam creates high-fidelity virtual tours, perfect for estate agents, wedding venues, hotels, and event planners;
View examples — collected with the XGRIDS PortalCam by the heliguy™ survey team at award-winning wedding venue Doxford Barns and Charlton Hall, both in Northumberland — to see how 3D virtual tours benefit property marketing pipelines;
Virtual tours give buyers and guests a realistic, immersive view of a space, improving engagement, building confidence, and reducing the need for unnecessary in-person visits;
XGRIDS PortalCam is a reality capture solution, powered by 3DGS (3D Gaussian Splatting);
heliguy™ is an XGRIDS partner and can help you start and scale your operations with the PortalCam.
In today’s digital-first market, buyers, guests, and event planners expect immersive online experiences before they ever step inside a space.
Whether you're selling homes or showcasing hotel rooms and wedding venues, high-quality virtual tours have become essential.
The XGRIDS PortalCam delivers these experiences with speed and clarity — enabling estate agents and hospitality teams to capture beautiful, accurate, and engaging visual models in minutes.
Key takeaways
Capture high-fidelity 3D 360 property visuals in minutes.
Virtual tours allow clients and customers to view every detail and every angle - remotely.
Ideal for estate agents, hotels, wedding venues, and events.
XGRIDS PortalCam is lightweight, simple to use, and requires no survey expertise.
Create fast, immersive virtual tours that drive enquiries and bookings.
Powered by XGRIDS' capture technology (3D Gaussian Splatting) and processed through Lixel CyberColor.
heliguy™ provides full setup, training, and ongoing support.
Expert insight
“PortalCam gives teams a fast, flexible way to create high-quality virtual tours without needing survey equipment or complex workflows. For estate agents and hospitality venues, it offers an instant upgrade in how they capture and present their spaces — with impressive results straight out of the box.”
— Alex Williams, Technical Geospatial Specialist, heliguy™
Introducing XGRIDS PortalCam
PortalCam is a compact, high-fidelity imaging device designed for quick, intuitive walkthrough capture.
It prioritises visual quality over measurement accuracy, making it perfect for customer-facing virtual tours where realism, atmosphere, and clarity matter most.
Features | Specification |
|---|---|
Capture type | High-fidelity 3DGS visual capture |
Use case | Virtual tours, marketing visuals, interior/exterior walkthroughs |
Portability | Weighs 870g: Lightweight, handheld form factor |
Ease of use | No surveying knowledge needed |
Processing | Lixel CyberColor |
Output | Immersive 3DGS visual models ready for viewng and embedding |
Internal storage | 512GB |
Battery life | 60 mins (continuous scanning) |
LiDAR system | Scanning range: 0.1m to 30m Point rate: 856,000 points/second |
Camera system | 4-camera array: 2 x fisheye, 2 x front Image resolution: 4000 x 3000px Sensor size: 1 /2" CMOS |
PortalCam gives teams the flexibility to document spaces quickly and consistently — ideal for fast-paced property and hospitality environments.
It is simple to use: There’s no surveying knowledge required.
How PortalCam elevates property & hospitality marketing
PortalCam enables full property or venue capture in minutes - providing a rich, walk-through experience that helps clients explore every angle and every detail with confidence from anywhere.
It captures natural lighting, true colour, texture and layout — providing a realistic sense of space that simple photos can’t match.
Virtual tours with the PortalCam can benefit:
Rental turnovers.
Show homes and new builds.
Hotel suites and conference rooms.
Wedding venue setups.
Event layouts.
Holiday lets and short-stay accommodation.
Use it for:
Better online engagement.
More qualified enquiries.
Faster decision-making.
Stronger booking confidence.
Better remote showarounds.
Reduced reliance on in-person tours.
Virtual tours vs static photos vs in-person viewings
The table below highlights the key benefits of virtual tours, compared to more traditional workflows of static photos and/or in-person viewings.
Feature/benefit | Virtual tours (PortalCam) | Static photos | In-person viewings |
|---|---|---|---|
Understanding layout & flow | Excellent – full spatial context | Poor – no sense of flow | Excellent |
Detail & visual quality | High – natural lighting + 3DGS | High (if professionally shot) | High |
Time required | Minutes to capture / seconds to view | Quick to take but limited value | High – travel + scheduling |
Customer convenience | View anytime, anywhere | View anytime, anywhere | Requires booking + travel |
Remote decision-making | Excellent – ideal for relocators, overseas clients | Limited | Moderate |
Engagement & enquiry quality | High – pre-qualifies serious interest | Medium | High |
Operational efficiency | Fewer unnecessary viewings | Generates enquiries but not clarity | Time-consuming for staff |
Atmosphere & feel of space | Strong – immersive 3D walkthrough | Weak | Strong |
Portfolio scalability | Very scalable across large estates/venues | Scalable but limited depth | Low – requires physical presence |
Accuracy & transparency | High – clients see reality, not angles | Low – selective framing | High |
Cost & resource use | Low ongoing cost | Low | High (staff time and logistics) |
Best use case | Marketing, remote tours, booking confidence | Basic listing presentation | Final stage verification |
Summary | Best balance of detail, convenience, speed, and realism. | Useful, but doesn't show flow, scale, or true spatial experience. | Still important, but far less efficient and harder to scale. |
XGRIDS processing software: Lixel CyberColor
After capture, PortalCam data is processed through Lixel CyberColor — the XGRIDS visual-processing engine that transforms raw images into immersive 3DGS visual models.
Benefit from:
Colour-accurate visualisation.
Clean, fluid walkthrough outputs.
High-fidelity rendering.
Fast processing times.
Export options to PLY, USDZ, WebGL, Unity, Unreal, and Revit, among others.
Share-ready models suitable for web and client presentations.
CyberColor ensures your virtual tours look polished, consistent, and professional.
Comparison: PortalCam vs DSLR vs Matterport/360 cameras
The table below highlights the differences between the PortalCam and traditional DSLR cameras and Matterport/360 cameras for virtual tours.
PortalCam | DSLR photography | Matterport/360 cameras | |
|---|---|---|---|
Capture speed | Minutes | Slow | Moderate |
Ease of use | Very easy | Requires skill | Easy to moderate |
Output type | 3DGS 360 visual tours | 2D photos | 3D 360 tours |
Spatial flow | Excellent | Poor | Good |
Visual fidelity | High | High | Medium |
Measurement accuracy | Visual only | None | Limited |
Subscription costs | LCC purchase | None | Subscription + bolt-on packages |
Standout benefit | Fastest, most flexible visual capture | Best for photos | Good for basic walkthroughs |
PortalCam doesn’t replace photography — it enhances it, offering a modern, immersive upgrade for digital property and venue marketing.
How heliguy™ supports your PortalCam workflow
As an official XGRIDS partner, heliguy™ provides full support, including:
Hardware supply: PortalCam devices, accessories, and XGRIDS components.
Software access: Guidance on using Lixel CyberColor effectively.
Training: Practical onboarding for estate agents, marketing teams, hotel managers, events teams, and more.
Workflow consultation: We help design capture workflows tailored to your operations.
Ongoing support: Direct access to our technical specialists — including the in-house survey team — for long-term help.
Summary
The XGRIDS PortalCam is a fast, flexible, and highly visual solution for creating immersive virtual tours across real estate and hospitality sectors. With high-fidelity 3DGS capture, rapid workflows, and simple processing through Lixel CyberColor, it empowers teams to present their spaces at their best — anytime, anywhere.
Supported by heliguy™’s training, setup assistance, and ongoing expertise, PortalCam is a powerful way to modernise property and venue marketing. Contact us to integrate the XGRIDS PortalCam into your workflows.
