PanoShard 360 Framework
A Unity framework for gigapixel 360° panoramas with tile streaming and WebGL support
The complete framework for crafting high-fidelity, navigable 360° worlds inside Unity
Performance-First Design: PanoShard keeps gigapixel imagery crisp through dynamic mesh tessellation, LRU caching, and smart fade transitions. Try the free version, explore the WebGL demos, and dial in quality presets per device.
Live Demos
ELT Observatory
Visit the construction site of the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile. Gigapixel panoramas, tile streaming, and hotspot storytelling all in one scene.
Cerro Pachón
Explore the observatories on Cerro Pachón in a gigapixel 360 tour. Visit each telescope separately, listen to the audio guide, and immerse yourself in wonders of human technologies. Source code available.
Product Showcase
Interactive 360° product presentation environment featuring the PanoShard logo. See how guided steps, video hotspots, and branded UI can turn panoramas into memorable showrooms.
Key Features
Dynamic Streaming
Stream only what players see. Concurrency caps, CDN overrides, and intelligent caching keep panoramas sharp while conserving bandwidth.
Multi-Resolution
Reusable sphere segments adjust to every zoom tier, blending seamlessly with fade-driven transitions and keeping draw calls lean.
Intelligent Cache
Fine-tune cache limits, anisotropic filtering, and mip bias through runtime presets designed for desktop, mobile, and VR.
Floor Plans
Out-of-the-box floor plan support with drag-and-drop map location setup and live camera viewport visualization, no code required.
Hotspot Support
Launch transitions, video overlays, URL prompts, and text callouts. Prefab-based anchors simplify authoring and stay upgrade-safe.
Cross-Platform
Unified input and camera strategies adapt instantly to desktop, touch, and VR setups with room for custom devices.
How It Works
- Tile Splitter: Convert source panoramas into multi-zoom tile sets with batching, padding, and instant StreamingAssets syncing.
- Sphere Segment Generator: Produce optimized meshes per zoom tier, align hotspot UVs, and reuse instanced materials for smooth fades.
- Tile Loader: Stream tiles asynchronously with adjustable request queues, CDN overrides, and cache eviction tuned for your targets.
- Tour & Camera Control: Orchestrate hotspots, camera profiles, and guided flows through a single, analytics-friendly manager.
*The included tile app downloads automatically on first use, delivering native-speed image slicing on Windows and MacOS.
Use Cases
- Virtual showrooms that blend hotspots, video explainers, and guided prompts
- Tourism and real estate walkthroughs with ultra-high-resolution zoom
- Training simulations that track hotspot completion and enforce step-by-step progress
- Event recaps with synchronized subtitles, multimedia callouts, and shareable moments
- Educational journeys that run multiple guided tracks for different audiences
Requirements
Unity Version
Unity 6 or newer
Render Pipeline
Universal Render Pipeline (URP)
Platforms
Windows, macOS, WebGL, iOS, Android
Scripting
.NET 4.x Equivalent
Core Systems Included
- Runtime Facade: Central manager harmonizes tile streaming, cache limits, zoom bounds, and hotspot lookups
- Dynamic Tile Loader: Asynchronous pipeline with concurrency controls and KTX-friendly decoding
- Multi-Resolution LOD: Auto-generated sphere meshes per zoom level with pooled materials
- Tour & Hotspot System: Guided tours, event hooks, and prefabbed hotspots for transitions and media
- Input Abstraction: Unified mouse, touch, and VR device handling with extensible registries
- Streaming Tools: Tile splitter, streaming asset optimizer, and post-build hooks
- Floor Plan: Drag-and-drop minimap with live camera viewport overlay and configurable markers
- VR Support: Native XR Interaction Toolkit integration for room-scale and seated VR across all major headsets
- Editor Tools: Dedicated windows to setup everything, no scripting required
Typical Draw Calls: ~30+ at high zoom levels thanks to instancing and advanced optimization algorithms
Memory Control: Tune cache budgets, filtering, and mip bias per deployment profile
What's Included
- Example projects with complete scene setups
- Editor windows for onboarding, tile splitting, and tour creation
- Free hotspot pack with drag-and-drop prefabs
- Full PDF + online documentation
- Video tutorials and runtime presets
- Complete C# source access (Pro version)
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I render gigapixel panoramas in Unity?
PanoShard slices source images into multi-resolution tile sets and streams them on demand using a custom Unity tile loader, dynamic LOD spheres, and an LRU cache. This lets you display gigapixel 360° imagery at full fidelity on desktop, mobile, WebGL, and VR without exhausting GPU memory.
Does PanoShard support Unity WebGL?
Yes. PanoShard runs in Unity WebGL builds and includes streaming, caching, and concurrency controls tuned for browser deployment. Live WebGL demos are available on the product page.
What's the best Unity asset for high-resolution 360° virtual tours?
PanoShard is purpose-built for high-resolution 360° tours in Unity. It bundles a tile splitter, hotspot system, floor-plan minimap, guided-tour manager, and VR support out of the box — so you can build virtual showrooms, real-estate walkthroughs, and educational tours without writing streaming code.
Which Unity version and render pipeline does PanoShard require?
PanoShard requires Unity 6 or newer with the Universal Render Pipeline (URP). It targets .NET 4.x Equivalent scripting and supports Windows, macOS, WebGL, iOS, and Android.
Can PanoShard be used for VR panorama experiences?
Yes. PanoShard integrates natively with Unity's XR Interaction Toolkit and supports room-scale and seated VR on all major headsets, with shared input abstractions across desktop, touch, and VR devices.
Ready to Get Started?
Download PanoShard from the Unity Asset Store and start creating immersive 360° experiences today.