Creation and use of virtual places

1. A method comprising:

at an electronic device comprising one or more processors and non-transitory memory:

detecting a triggering event associated with a physical place;

in response to detecting the triggering event:

obtaining one or more images of the physical place;

determining, based on the one or more images, a surface geometry of the physical place and one or more texture maps; and

creating, in the non-transitory memory, a 3-D model of the physical place using the surface geometry and the one or more texture maps, wherein the 3-D model is associated with one or more restricted objects; and

providing a user interface for remote access to the 3-D model, wherein the one or more images used to create the 3-D model of the place are captured by one or more devices that are not controlled by a user of the user interface and the one or more restricted objects are visible to the user according to a determination that the user has permission to view the one or more restricted objects.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

enabling an avatar operated by the user to enter, tour, and interact with the 3-D model of the physical place.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein enabling the avatar to enter, tour, and interact with the 3-D model of the physical place is performed in real or near real time.

4. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

while the avatar is touring or interacting the with the 3-D model of the physical place, causing a virtual viewer indicator to activate in the physical place.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting the triggering event includes at least one of:

monitoring queries provided to a search engine including an identifier for the physical place;

monitoring a current popularity of news stories that include an identifier for the physical place;

monitoring a news feed for a newsworthy event taking place at the physical place; or

monitoring a real estate listing including an identifier for the physical place.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the one or more images of the physical place is performed in real or near real time.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the user interface includes enabling use of the 3-D model in an online virtual world environment.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the online virtual world environment corresponds to a multi-user environment.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

while providing the user interface for remote access to the 3-D model, detecting a user input associated with decluttering the 3-D model; and

in response to detecting the user input, removing one or more objects from the 3-D model with a dimension less than a threshold size.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

while providing the user interface for remote access to the 3-D model, detecting one or user inputs associated with modifying the 3-D model; and

in response to detecting the one or more user inputs, modifying the 3-D model by at least one of: adding an object to the 3-D model; removing an object from the 3-D model; or changing the appearance of an object within the 3-D model.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein modifying the 3-D model causes creation of a separate forked version of the physical place.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein adding the object to the 3-D model includes adding the object to one of a plurality of anchor points within the 3-D model.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein creating the 3-D model of the physical place includes creating the 3-D model of the physical place based at least in part on the surface geometry of the physical place, the one or more texture maps of the physical place, and a pre-existing model of the physical place.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

updating the 3-D model over time based on subsequent images of the physical place.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions encoded thereon which, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to:

detect a triggering event associated with a physical place;

in response to detecting the triggering event:

obtain one or more images of the physical place;

determine, based on the one or more images, a surface geometry of the physical place and one or more texture maps; and

create, in the non-transitory memory, a 3-D model of the physical place using the surface geometry and the one or more texture maps, wherein the 3-D model is associated with one or more restricted objects; and

provide a user interface for remote access to the 3-D model, wherein the one or more images used to create the 3-D model of the place are captured by one or more devices that are not controlled by a user of the user interface and the one or more restricted objects are visible to the user according to a determination that the user has permission to view the one or more restricted objects.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the electronic device to:

enable an avatar operated by the user to enter, tour, and interact with the 3-D model of the physical place.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein enabling the avatar to enter, tour, and interact with the 3-D model of the physical place is performed in real or near real time.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the instructions further cause the electronic device to:

while the avatar is touring or interacting the with the 3-D model of the physical place, causing a virtual viewer indicator to activate in the physical place.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein detecting the triggering event includes at least one of:

monitoring queries provided to a search engine including an identifier for the physical place;

monitoring a current popularity of news stories that include an identifier for the physical place;

monitoring a news feed for a newsworthy event taking place at the physical place; or

monitoring a real estate listing including an identifier for the physical place.

20. An electronic device comprising:

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:

detect a triggering event associated with a physical place;

in response to detecting the triggering event:

obtain one or more images of the physical place;

determine, based on the one or more images, a surface geometry of the physical place and one or more texture maps; and

create, in the non-transitory memory, a 3-D model of the physical place using the surface geometry and the one or more texture maps, wherein the 3-D model is associated with one or more restricted objects; and

provide a user interface for remote access to the 3-D model, wherein the one or more images used to create the 3-D model of the place are captured by one or more devices that are not controlled by a user of the user interface and the one or more restricted objects are visible to the user according to a determination that the user has permission to view the one or more restricted objects.

21. The electronic device of claim 20 , wherein the instructions further cause the electronic device to:

enable an avatar operated by the user to enter, tour, and interact with the 3-D model of the physical place.

22. The electronic device of claim 21 , wherein enabling the avatar to enter, tour, and interact with the 3-D model of the physical place is performed in real or near real time.

23. The electronic device of claim 21 , wherein the instructions further cause the electronic device to:

while the avatar is touring or interacting the with the 3-D model of the physical place, causing a virtual viewer indicator to activate in the physical place.

24. The electronic device of claim 20 , wherein detecting the triggering event includes at least one of:

monitoring queries provided to a search engine including an identifier for the physical place;

monitoring a current popularity of news stories that include an identifier for the physical place;

monitoring a news feed for a newsworthy event taking place at the physical place; or

monitoring a real estate listing including an identifier for the physical place.