BNP Paribas rolls out VR 'teleport' for property viewings

Kevin Cardona, head of innovation at BNP Paribas Real Estate, said: ‘For two years, BNP Paribas Real Estate has integrated immersive technologies into the development of its innovation projects. Already tested on two real-estate projects in London and Paris, this innovation is a world first.'

According to the firm, attendees at the teleportation meeting are equipped with wearable computers and googles to enter bespoke virtual environments.

Each participant uses a hand-held control pad to manipulate 3D virtual objects, such as a hologram of a map of a neighbourhood, or the model of a real-estate venture. The technology has undergone testing for 12 months and is now ready, BNP announced.

The bank believes the benefits of its cutting-edge technology – developed in partnership with Magic Leap, a spatial computing developer, and Mimesys, a start-up which creates the digital platform underpinning the technology – include increased cost-efficiency from eliminating the need for flights, with a resulting environmental benefit.

Sophie Heller, chief operating officer of retail banking & services at BNP Paribas, said: ‘We are proud to roll out the teleportation meetings with Magic Leap and Mimesys. This prototype shows how committed the BNP Paribas Group is to constantly innovate and prepare the bank for tomorrow.

‘It is also a good example of our daily endeavour to create synergies between our business lines towards an increasingly rich experience for our clients.’

Omar Khan, chief product officer at Magic Leap, said: ‘We are on a mission to expand the spatial computing ecosystem and believes that communication and collaboration solutions will be a key driver of mass adoption.

‘The telepresence solution that Mimesys has created with BNP Paribas is a true breakthrough in co-presence and collaboration, designed to solve the challenges of time, distance, and communication that confront every global business.’