To produce a reliable 360° panoramic walkthrough in SKAND, it is important to follow a structured and consistent capture workflow. The quality of your walkthrough depends on how stable, clear, and continuous your imagery is during the recording phase.
This document provides guidelines on how to properly capture 360° videos for processing.
Requirements
Before starting your capture session, ensure you have:
A supported 360° camera (e.g., Insta360 models or similar).
A monopod or extension pole to position the camera above head height.
Sufficient storage and battery for the full capture session.
Planning the Capture
Proper planning helps prevent misaligned panoramas, stitching errors, and inconsistent walkthrough paths.
Identify the areas to be captured
Determine all spaces the walkthrough should cover.
Include areas where users are expected to view or navigate frequently.
Plan continuous coverage. Avoid large gaps between capture points.
Plan a logical capture route
Indoor spaces
Follow a looped route, covering hallways, rooms, and intersections.
Start and end at the same point.
Plan transitions between rooms (e.g., doorways) carefully to maintain continuity.
Outdoor or open areas
Choose a consistent walking path based on key viewpoints.
Ensure overlapping coverage even in open, feature-sparse environments.
Movement and orientation guidelines
Move at a slow, steady pace.
Avoid abrupt starts, stops, or turns.
Keep the camera oriented straight and vertical the entire time.
Do not rotate the camera manually while capturing.
Capture Methods
The SKAND pipeline uses 360° video recordings as the source for generating panoramic walkthroughs. All frames are extracted directly from the recorded video, so maintaining stable movement and a consistent camera orientation is essential.
Timelapse video is the recommended capture mode because it records frames at fixed intervals, producing evenly spaced imagery that aligns more reliably during processing. It also keeps file sizes manageable and reduces the risk of camera overheating.
Continuous video is supported but may result in larger files and more motion blur, especially when walking quickly or navigating tight spaces. For best results, move smoothly, keep the camera vertical, and maintain steady lighting throughout the recording.
General Capture Guidelines
These practices apply to all capture methods:
Avoid moving too quickly, as this can cause motion blur and reduce panorama quality. Maintain a slow, steady pace throughout the capture.
Good lighting significantly impacts panorama quality. Avoid capturing in low-light conditions. Clear skies work best for outdoor captures, while well-distributed artificial lighting is ideal for indoor environments.
Avoid capturing during rain, heavy glare, or extreme lighting variations.
Position the camera above head height, centered, and vertical.
Avoid tilting or rotating the camera.
Ensure the camera lenses remain clean before and during capture.
Capture the entire route in a single session to maintain lighting and continuity.
Why Capture Quality Matters in SKAND
The SKAND 360° pipeline depends on clean and consistent video capture to accurately reconstruct spaces. High-quality footage allows the system to align frames correctly by maintaining consistent motion and stable camera orientation, stitch transitions smoothly so movement between viewpoints feels natural, generate steady and continuous walkthrough paths without abrupt jumps, and preserve realistic perspective and depth cues that make the virtual space intuitive to navigate.
If the capture is rushed or uneven, for example walking too fast, tilting the camera, or failing to maintain overlap, the system may struggle to match frames. This can result in stitching artifacts, distorted panoramas, or shaky transitions throughout the walkthrough.