Czech-based virtual cycling platform ROUVY has added a 360° dimension to virtual racing with its new OmniMode feature, using expanded real-life video routes.
OmniMode is billed as the next generation of the ROUVY indoor cycling app, providing the rider with a 360° range of views to create a more immersive cycling experience and enhanced levels of in-ride group interactivity.
Casual riders also now have the opportunity to explore virtual routes at their own pace in a 360° video panorama.
“This is another important milestone for us,” said Petr Samek, ROUVY co-founder and CEO. “We aim to bring a major innovation to the market and global athletic community every 4-5 years. So, this is again one of the turning points in the history of our product.
“From now on, virtual cycling will never be the same again, as casual amateur cyclists will be able to compete on the Tour de France roads, Spring Classics Monuments or iconic Italian climbs with the same level of 360° realism as the World Tour pros.
“We are proud to be the first on the market to provide such a solution that is globally available and quickly scalable. With a proven track record of multiple virtual events, both of the UCI-sanctioned and national level competitions, we believe it will be the best go-to concept for different e-sports cups and championships.”
Jirka Samek, Chief Research Officer and company co-founder, added “OmniMode is the new future that we have started creating and shaping today.
“For the launch, we have made seven courses from real-life pro races in Germany, Italy and Slovakia. Just as it is now possible to ride any course on a trainer on ROUVY; so, in the future, you will be able to enjoy and prepare for any race, or compete against the world in legendary places in 360° view.
“It took years of research to come to this moment. Actually, our original 360° videos are recorded in 11K resolution, but we lower that to 2K to be playable and ‘usable’ for the majority of customer devices.”
OmniMode controls can be enabled both automatically and manually and can work simultaneously. By default, the automatic 360° panoramic camera is turned on (and can be turned off in the ROUVY menu).
The camera controls are located at the top of the in-ride screen (keyboard hotkeys: B – look back, P – panorama, F – front view) and in the menu settings.
The algorithm for the automatic camera change works as follows: ‘front camera’ for 80 seconds, then switch to ‘rear view’ and then ‘whip-pan’ panoramic mode for about 15 seconds. The switch to the rear camera happens more often than to the panoramic mode in a 2:1 ratio.
OmniMode features
- Rear camera view
- Static & dynamic panoramic camera views – ‘whip-pan fly around’ (both automatic and manually switchable)
- Improved elevation profile on routes (improving ride experience with more realistic gradients, especially on high-end trainers)
- Extended course visibility (using OmniMode, the rider can now see other riders/avatars and overlaid 3D objects at a much further distance)
- Avatars’ movement in turns (on 360° tracks the camera trajectory positions better and in turn the avatar is always visible)
- Real hiding and visibility of avatars through static objects (‘no more disappearing of riders before turns or static objects, or being visible through rocks and trees, or similar’)
- Camera position and behaviour in a group ride (the camera position in OmniMode is higher and eliminates erratic avatar behaviour in front of the camera)
- Enhanced level of interactivity for multi-rider experiences for group rides and races
Released 360° routes
- Italian Dolomites | Passo Gavia (features in Giro d’Italia and Maratona dles Dolomites)
- Italian Dolomites | Passo Stelvio (from Bormio)
- Tour of Germany 2022 | Stage 3
- Tour of Germany 2022 | Stage 4
- Tour of Germany 2022 | Schwarzwald 1
- Tour of Germany 2022 | Schwarzwald 2
- Tour of Slovakia 2022
- Challenge Family Championship | Samorin
Upcoming updates
New OmniMode routes will be released on a weekly basis at approximately one route a week. Strava Live Segments will be located on all newly released OmniMode routes (these can be disabled in the app settings).
To take advantage of all new features, the ROUVY app should be updated to 2.15.0 version (or higher).
