ROUVY disrupts Cycling eSports with OmniMode technology using real 360° videos

November 3, 2022

Prague, Czech Republic / Czech-based eSports platform ROUVY adds a first ever 360° dimension to virtual racing with OmniMode™, using real-life video routes at iconic locations. OmniMode is the next generation of the ROUVY indoor cycling app, providing the rider with improved features and a 360° range of views to create an even more immersive cycling experience. Going 360°, ROUVY’s event experience is about to become the new industry standard. The new concept will provide athletes with enhanced levels of in-ride group interactivity, fun and competition. Casual riders also now have the opportunity to explore the world at their own pace in stunning 360° video panorama.

Prague, Czech Republic / November 3rd, 2022 /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – ROUVY’s unique digital platform is based on augmented geo-synced video routes which bring the real-life cycling and triathlon competition experience to your home. Over the last few years, ROUVY has given anyone the possibility to try La Vuelta, Tour de Suisse, Tour of Germany, IRONMAN, Challenge Family, and more than 70 other world class racing events just from home. ROUVY ensures a precise 1:1 simulation of outdoor cycling, turning mundane training sessions into fun adventures across the distant and exotic parts of the world. Cycling through thousands of high quality courses from home one never has to ride in the same virtual location twice, giving a routine fitness session a refreshing revamp. In history there was never such an opportunity for hundreds of thousands of people to explore countries around the world virtually and travel where one probably will never be able to go in real life.

“This is another important milestone for us.” says Petr Samek, one of ROUVY’s founders 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 eSports cups and championships.”

Jirka Samek, Chief Research Officer and one of the company founders, adds, “OmniMode is the new future that we have started creating and shaping today. For the launch, we have made 7 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.“

[Demo video on YouTube]

New Features & Benefits of OmniMode

• Rear camera view (now it is possible to ride non-stop in the “look back mode” angle and enjoy the scenery in that position, or see who is riding in the back of the peloton and see who is about to attack)
• Static & dynamic panoramic camera views – “whip-pan fly around” (both automatic and manually switchable)
• Improved elevation profile on the route (the altitude profile works in much better detail and smoothness. The ride experience features even 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 turns the avatar is always visible.)
• Real hiding and visibility of avatars through the static objects (no more disappearing of riders before turns or static objects, and visible through rocks and trees, or similar.)
• Camera position and behavior 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.

How it works
The control over OmniMode 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 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 this way: “front camera” for 80 seconds, then switches 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 one in a 2:1 ratio. More technical info can be found here.

Released 360° routes

Starting with a diverse offering, real cyclists can enjoy this new level of realism on climbing, flat, and rolling elevation profiles. To be easily searchable all OmniMode routes will have a dedicated folder in the route app catalogue.

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

Lauren Wolff, ROUVY’s ambassador says, “As an experienced competitive rider, I am thrilled about this new 360° experience with OmniMode. It will make all online group rides and races much more enjoyable than it was in the past. There will be no bunching or overlapping; instead, the riders are perfectly displayed individually, giving one a perfect view from all angles. In races, this will be great for tactical reasons comparable to real life, where you can look back over the shoulder and see who is closing the gap and have the same vision for what lies ahead – with better visibility. What I also like about it, is the ability to now see more of the scenery all around while one is riding that couldn’t be seen before. I love it!”

Upcoming updates for OmniMode

The new OmniMode routes will be released on a weekly basis at approximately 1 route a week. Strava Live Segments will be located on all newly released OmniMode routes (these can be disabled in the app settings). For the easy and convenient control of the 360 views, the camera controls will be available in the ROUVY Companion App which will be released within 1 month, to offer an upgraded level of app control and user experience. Currently, with the arrival of all new updates there will be no change in the current pricing. (Top “bird fly” view is expected to arrive in the future.)

More information can be found on the ROUVY website.

To enjoy and take advantage of all features of OmniMode, the ROUVY app should be updated to 2.15.0 version (or higher). New athletes are provided with a 14-day free trial experience (no credit card required) and upon buying, one subscription can be shared with 2 more household members. The apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices or Apple TV are available on https://rouvy.com/download.

Trademark
“OmniMode™” is a trademark name for the new 360° feature and multiplayer interactivity. All related rights are reserved.

Other recently released features include

• New beta video player and improved gameplay (the feature enhances a better quality of video play, optical smoothing and in-peloton avatar behaviour – it continues to be gradually rolled out to the user base in stages)
• Strava Live Segments added to 100 courses (and counting)
• Start from where you left off last time (works only in “just ride” mode)
• New augmented roads from Japan (like the Kokura Castle city course), USA and Europe (the catalog includes up to 1,000 AR routes)

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//Press visuals are here.

About ROUVY

ROUVY aspires to become the #1 choice for athletes in endurance eSports and fitness, based on virtual tourism. With over 1 million riders from cycling and triathlon communities all over the world, the platform has become a top choice and virtual training home for both world level pros and casual hobby riders. The family-friendly ROUVY app enables athletes to cycle around the globe indoors, ride together for fun or compete in official race locations. Cycling enthusiasts of all levels enjoy the realistic experience of riding outdoors from the comfort of their homes – anytime and ANYWHERE.
rouvy.com.