Tour the White House in virtual reality with the Obamas as your guides

By Julian Chokkattu Published January 15, 2017

white house obama vr — Image used with permission by copyright holder

President-elect Donald Trump may be taking over the White House next week, but you can still get one last look at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue while President Barack Obama resides there — and in virtual reality, no less.

Filmed by Felix & Paul, a VR film studio that has a number of 360-degree content under its belt, “The People’s House” is available to everyone as a 360-degree video, and thanks to a partnership with Oculus Studios, Gear VR and Oculus Rift owners can watch the tour with their headsets.

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The video is a tour of the White House led by both Barack and Michelle Obama, who not only talk about the building’s history, but about their time spent in it for the past eight years. It’s not the first VR short film made by Paul & Felix to feature President Obama. “Through the Ages” takes the cake, and it showcases the president celebrating the National Parks Service Centennial at Yosemite.

The White House video, which was filmed in November and December, isn’t the final version — the full-length video will come later this year, but the production studio wanted to make sure a part of it is available before Obama leaves office. The current version on Facebook clocks in around eight minutes, and the full version is expected to be around 20 minutes long.

The full version will also feel more real, and have more depth, as it will be available in stereoscopic 3D. It’s unclear when it will be available, but for now, you can enjoy a personal tour of the White House led by the 44th President of the United States and the first lady here.

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Julian Chokkattu

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Julian is the mobile and wearables editor at Digital Trends, covering smartphones, fitness trackers, smartwatches, and more…

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