Walking on the water with a virtual tour: Dimensione3 at the Digital Twin Awards 2025

Imagine you can walk on the water around a sailboat, observe it from every angle and seize every detail as if you were suspended on the sea. It seems science fiction, and instead it is virtual reality: it is the innovative digital tour developed by Dimensione3, Italian specialist in immersive 3D tours, which with this amazing experience competes at the Digital Twin Awards 2025. The international competition rewards the best Digital Twins, demonstrating how technology can transform the way we explore the world.

The Digital Twin Awards 2025: the most coveted award for virtual tours

Organized by Matterport and CAPTUR3D, the Digital Twin Awards 2025 celebrates the best creations in the field of Digital Twins. There are not only symbolic trophies but also concrete prizes: the winners will receive hardware, accessories and Matterport subscriptions for a value of up to $6,300, with a total prize pool of $28,000.

But the real prize is visibility: with participants from over 170 countries, the DTA is considered the Oscar for virtual tours. As stated by RJ Pittman, CEO of Matterport, the competition rewards those who push the boundaries of creativity and technology, opening new possibilities for digital representation of real spaces.

The categories range from art to education, from real estate to historical preservation, to the most original uses of Matterport technology. The nominations closed on 28 February 2025 and in mid-March the finalists will be announced. After a public vote, the final verdict will arrive on 4 April. For Dimensione3 being in competition in such a prestigious context is already a great joy.

The tour that “walks on the water”

The idea presented by Dimensione3 has something magical: a virtual tour of a sailboat that allows users to explore it both on board and outside, with the feeling of walking on the surface of the sea. It is our “Walking on water”.

nautical tours normally allow you to visit the interior or move on the bridge, but not to see the boat from outside with an immersive perspective. Thanks to this innovation, instead, it is possible to wander around the boat, observe its hull from close up and admire its lines as a drone or a seagull in flight.

A revolutionary experience for shipyards or yacht brokers that want to show a new boat to customers across the world. With a traditional tour, the user can examine cabins, salons, blankets... but thanks to the innovation of Dimensione3, instead, the virtual visitor can turn around the yacht, approach the bow to see how it cuts the waves, move along the side admiring the details and even look at the stern as it would by a tender in the water. It is a level of involvement and visual completeness that so far was reserved only to those who could physically flank the boat with another boat or with a drone. Now this “external tour” is within easy reach for anyone.

The technological challenge: stabilize the camera and make the support disappear

Making such an immersive tour required advanced engineering. The Dimensione3 team had to face a crucial challenge: how to get stable and high quality images outside the boat, despite the wave movement?

The solution was the creation of an extendable arm, fixed to the wall, able to hold a 360° camera suspended just above the water. This system is designed to compensate for boat movements, ensuring perfectly stable shooting.

Once you have acquired the images, a further post-production step has allowed you to digitally delete each track of the support, leaving only the boat and the sea. The result? A perfect illusion: those who explore the tour really feel like walking on the water next to the boat.

From the sea to architecture: the possible evolutions of technology

Dimensione3 innovation opens up interesting scenarios outside the nautical sector. If today we can “walk” virtually around a yacht, tomorrow we could do it around a building under construction, a historical monument or even within an archaeological site.

Architects and engineers could present their projects allowing customers to observe them from every angle, while experiential tourism could benefit from new perspectives impossible to get physically.

“ Similar technologies could revolutionize how we explore the world,” explains the Dimensione3 team. “From museums to yards, the possibilities are endless. ”

Toward the verdict

Now we have to wait: the Digital Twin Awards jury is evaluating the nominations to choose the finalists and on April 4 the winners will be announced. Meanwhile, Dimensione3’s candidacy has already aroused great interest in the sector, consolidating the company’s reputation among the protagonists of digital innovation.

Whatever the final outcome, Dimensione3 once again proved to be able to look beyond, transforming a visionary idea into a concrete experience. And who knows, maybe this is just the beginning of a new era for immersive tours.