Geography

OtherSight

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$17.99 at launch Raiz New Media Photogrammetry travel Meta Quest
Launched on Quest around the end of 2021 • Four locations at launch • Guided audio at hotspots

OtherSight

A photogrammetry travel app that recreates real places in 3D, from the back alleys of Tokyo to the studio of the Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla. Walk around each scene, open drawers, pick up objects and listen to guides at hotspots.

Developer: Raiz New Media
Price: $17.99 at launch
Platform: Meta Quest
Subject: Geography • Art • History
5.2
/10
XR School Score
Niche
Real places in 3D • Guided audio • Art, architecture and street scenes • Few locations • Rough visuals in places • Expensive for the content
Mixed reviews MIXED: least polished of three
Overview

OtherSight is a virtual travel app by Raiz New Media for Meta Quest, built with photogrammetry, which creates 3D scenes from many real photographs. It was announced for Quest in mid 2021 and launched around the end of that year, priced at $17.99 when MIXED reviewed it in January 2022.

At launch it offered four environments: the studio of the Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla, the back alleys of Tokyo, the interior of the abbey church of Santes Creus in Catalonia, and a street in Havana. More locations, including the Mezquita of Córdoba, were promised. Information panels accompany each place, and audio commentary plays at hotspots, with a young Japanese guide in Tokyo and a knight from the past in the abbey. Some drawers open and some objects can be picked up. MIXED found it the least polished of the three Quest travel apps it compared, with a buggy tutorial, blurry textures and less than an hour of content.

Small Places, Up Close Instead of famous skylines, OtherSight focuses on intimate spaces: a painter's studio, a quiet alley, the inside of a medieval church. That suits art and history lessons where the detail of a single place matters more than the sweep of a city.
Launch Locations
🎨
Sorolla's studio
The workspace of the Spanish painter.
🏮
Tokyo alleys
Back streets with a local guide.
⛪
Santes Creus
The interior of a Cistercian abbey church.
🏝️
Havana
A street in the Cuban capital.
Check Before Buying Content available now may differ from launch, so check the current store listing for locations, price and ratings. The app runs standalone on Quest. Reviewers found visuals uneven, so compare it with alternatives such as Blueplanet VR Explore or Wander.
Classroom Value
Cultural interest
6.5
Visual quality
4.5
Curriculum links
5.5
Ease of setup
8.0
Value for money
3.5
Strengths and Limitations
Strengths
  • Real places recreated in 3D
  • Guided audio at hotspots
  • Mix of art, religious and street scenes
  • Some interactive objects
  • Runs standalone on Quest
Considerations
  • Few locations at launch
  • Rough textures and geometry in places
  • Under an hour of content at launch
  • Expensive for what it offers
  • Buggy tutorial reported
For Teachers: One Place in Depth Use a single OtherSight location as the focus of a lesson: Sorolla's studio in art, Santes Creus in RE or history, or Havana in geography. Ask students to note five details they could only see by being there, then research what they reveal.
Check store
Meta Quest • $17.99 at launch
Search the Meta store → More geography apps →
Quick Facts
Developer
Raiz New Media
Platform
Meta Quest
Launch
Around the end of 2021
Launch price
$17.99
Locations at launch
4
Technique
Photogrammetry
Verdict
OtherSight recreates a handful of interesting, intimate places in 3D with guided audio, but reviewers found it rough and short for its launch price. It may suit a teacher wanting one specific location; for wider virtual travel, other apps offer more.

Gareth Griffiths

Gareth Griffiths is a scientist and the founder of World of Teaching, a free library of over 1,000 teacher made PowerPoints. He set up The XR School to help teachers, schools and parents find virtual and augmented reality apps that genuinely help young people learn, and to give an honest view of what each app teaches, which headsets it needs and what it costs.