Michigan Capitol to get Google Street View treatment for virtual tour

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The Michigan Capitol in downtown Lansing.

(Jonathan Oosting | MLive.com)

LANSING, MI -- Touring the Michigan Capitol could soon be just a click away.

The Michigan Capitol Commission on Monday approved plans to have LunaTech, a Novi-based company, map out the historic building using Google 3D technology.

"We have all these school tours of this phenomenal building, but what about those kids in the Upper Peninsula or other parts of the state that can't visit as easily?" said Commissioner John Truscott. "This will allow them to take that virtual tour."

The Capitol Commission, which receives roughly $3 million a year in state funding to oversee maintenance of the 136-year-old building, will pay $9,950 for the service.

Increasing accessibility to the Michigan Capitol is one of the commission's main missions, according to Truscott, who said 3D tours could also help visitors learn more about the building before they travel to Lansing.

He's hoping interior photography can begin this summer but expects exterior work -- which would likely involve drone photography -- to take place later in the year, once crews finish restoration work on the Capitol dome.

LunaTech President Doug Willett said the company will bring a camera mounted tripod into the Capitol, capturing panoramic images of the building every few feet.

"You know what Street View is?" Willett said. "This is indoor Street View. We simply bring that tech inside and can give you a 360-degree tour."

LunaTech is a Google-certified photographer and 3D developer, allowing it to use the technology. The company creates its own interactive wrappers to enhance the online tours.

A virtual tourist at the Michigan Capitol might be able to click on a painting of a particular governor and learn more about him or her, Willett said. Interactive elements may involve videos, photo galleries and more.

"It'll probably be one of the bigger tours that we've done," said Willett, comparing the Capitol to other projects his company has completed for the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island and Bronner's Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth.

"We're really looking forward to it."

Check out LunaTech's Grand Hotel tour below to see the technology in action.

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.

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