Our team at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) has been actively engaged in the development of virtual geological tours (VTs) featuring key outcrops of the Cape Granite Suite, Cape Supergroup, and Karoo Supergroup.
The primary objectives of this initiative are threefold: to create comprehensive geo-education focused VTs that assist university students in preparing for in-person field excursions; to contribute visual content to the Geodyssey platform; and to produce tours hosted on Google Earth with more of an emphasis on geotourism and geoheritage.
Since 2024, significant progress has been made. By integrating a range of software tools—including Pano2VR, PTGui, CapCut, Microsoft Clipchamp, and Sketchfab—we have refined our workflow to effectively utilise a DJI Mavic 3 Pro Cine drone alongside an Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max equipped with a 3D LiDAR scanner and lavalier microphone. This streamlined approach enables the creation of fully interactive VTs without the need to transport bulky photographic or cinematic equipment into the field.
We aim to showcase some of these VTs currently in development and would welcome suggestions for improvement. We are also keen to hear which specific outcrops the Geological Society of South Africa (GSSA) would like us to document in terms of the geoheritage aspect.
Hi Charl. Thank you for your update! Very useful info! Len