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So far this year I have been cycling for 680 km in 33hrs with a height gain of 6800 meters. In this time I have used my narrative clip 2 device to document the ride with a picture every 10-30 seconds as I want to focus on riding rather than other things. I like to have as high a moving time as possible so I usually stop once I get back to my starting point. By cycling I see the landscape at a slower, more interesting speed. I see the roads, I smell the vegetation, I feel the heat and I feel the cold. I also discover small paths that I would not take in a car or on a scooter. In practicing this sport I get to know the landscape. I also get to see seasonal changes. This year I have cycled in the rain, in the snow, in the wind and on days like today. Today it was sunny and there was no wind to fight against. It made the ride more pleasant. The technology I took on today’s ride was my narrative clip 2 to take pictures of the bike ride, my Crosscall Odyssey+ phone, the Cateye Evo+ and finally the Suunto Ambit 3. I also took the Ricoh Theta S but never stopped to take pictures. For future rides I should fix it to the handle bars. I could bring you with me on my next bike ride. Of course I would keep just the interesting bits of the ride. I can throw away the rest.

For years I have enjoyed watching the Tour De France and often call it the French Landscape program. In this case we start with Vittorio Brumotti cycling with his team before becoming distracted and going to enjoy some mountain bike trails, some balancing on barriers, floating in a swimming pool, enjoying a running carpet and more. It shows the area of Livigno and what it has to offer in summer. You might remember him for a video from earlier this year or last year. I like that road cycling teams have athletes who can show their balancing and other skills. It makes the sport more entertaining to watch. Remember when he cycled in the plane graveyard and on that barrier?

Tony Tremblay - 28th of Nov, 2016

Made a 360 degrees portrait page on facebook https://www.facebook.com/Portrait360-112660985877101/ amazing little camera

I was in Spain with the Ricoh Theta S last week so I took the opportunity to experiment with the Ricoh Theta S in a number of locations. What I like about such a device is that it takes a click to get pictures. I experimented with a manfrotto monopod and a smaller monopod. The Manfrotto base was clearly visible in shots so the immersive experience is degraded. With the smaller monopod the base is the same width as that of the camera. This means that at least the support was hidden.

Vlogging on a Via Ferrata with the Theta S by Ricoh is not only feasible but interesting. Earlier today I went to the Via Ferrata du Fort L’écluse in the French Region of Ain. This Via Ferrata goes long the nice rock face next to the climb. The purpose of this video is to bring you with me so that you can experience the sounds of Via Ferrata without the climbing experience or a head for heights. The Theta S by Ricoh is a 360° camera with two lenses. One lens is looking at the person taking video and the other lens looks at what the holder of the camera sees. When the two signals are combined you can export the video as a 360 video to be shared. The device has a mini HDMI out, a USB port, enough memory for 45 minutes of video at 1920X1080 with a 30FPS shooting range. It is currently one of the more affordable and intuitive devices to use. You can keep it with you at all times and getting material ready for editing takes seconds. The beauty of such a simple and light solution is that it allows for a very quick turnaround time. [caption id=“attachment_2873” align=“aligncenter” width=“169”] Reviewing footage is simple and intuitive[/caption] I was hanging off a cliff when I was taking my videos today but if you’re a normal person you will probably be sitting in a café or some stairs to review the footage. When device wifi is activated and when you download the app you can use your phone as a remote to take videos or pictures and even to watch back the video you have taken in 360° vision. If you’re not happy with the shot then you can repeat it until you are happy. This system is a simple, elegant and all in one solution that is quick and intuitive to use.

Rock Climbing in Virtual Reality has an interesting future because some people are afraid of heights, others don’t have the muscle tone to climb and yet more live too far away from climbing locations to enjoy the sport. Virtual reality is a great way of enabling people to get some of the sensations of rock climbing without the safety concerns. As I watched this video I was curious to see whether it was a passive experience and then noticed the playstation controller. That’s a nice enough way to go “rock climbing but it it was up to me then I would pair this with the HTC Vive and it’s related controllers. Ideally I would go a step further. I would develop a conveyor belt system, place it vertically and program it to put handholds where the climber has somewhere to grip. As he or she climbs they would place their weight on the hand hold and it would slide down as the person climbs. We have seen demonstrations of equipment that can emulate 3d shapes and textures. The challenge would be to take this from being flat on a table to being vertical and strong enough to hold someone’s weight. Tests should be carried out on near vertical and vertical “climbing routes” before being rotated to allow for the climbing of overhanging routes. You would definitely get a workout from such a configuration. Gamers would go from their current physiognomy to being toned and healthy. The next generation of gamers are going to be fit thanks to Virtual reality workouts. This could also be attempted for sports like Via Ferrata, via cordata and others. Via Ferrata is a simplified form of rock climbing and via cordata is walking around a nice landscape where safety gear is available to keep you safe in case of a slip or fall whilst hiking. I really look forward to when this gaming/fitness training experience comes of age.

Samsung Gear VR - Oculus rift - HTC Vive

Virtual Reality is a great opportunity to practice skills and keep fit at the same time. It’s fun to watch people play these immersive games and get carried away. In Holopoint you’re an archer shooting at targets and they shoot back at you. You need to dodge out of the way to avoid being hit. At first you’re given enough time to shoot and avoid the arrows but as you progress in the game you need to react faster and dodge more arrows. From level 10 onwards you’re shooting at Samurai warriors and dodging arrows from boxes. The game looks both fun and physical. This game looks as though it could be addictive. If I had an HTC Vive I think I would pull the cable so that it is hanging from the ceiling rather than from the headset down my back and on to the floor. From my experience of the HTC Vive in Crans Montana and from the comments he makes during the video it seems logical to get the cable out of the way. It would be a shame to trip and break the device or injure yourself. The beauty of VR is that the graphics don’t need to be photo realistic for the application to be fun. As with Altspace you’re immersed in an environment and you know that you can interact with objects and talk with people in other programs. At first I was unsure about socialising via Virtual reality but after experiencing it I changed my mind. You are in a virtual environment and you can play with objects and move towards and away from groups. A friend was playing basketball in Altspace and I had fun piling mugs of beer until they fell to the floor. Virtual reality is as much about the environment as it is about having fun. The ability to play in a virtual environment is entertaining. I look forward to seeing how these environments progress and become more realistic. I was thinking about how sailing and other simulators would be possible with such technology. That would be a lot of fun. It would make a change from car driving and flying games.

  I was at the World Virtual Reality Forum in Crans Montana this weekend as a volunteer. During this time I was able to try many of the demonstrations and get a real feel for the potential of 360° and immersive videos. I was also able to listen to people comment on what they appreciated about the experiences and what they did not like.

Vulkane in 3D und 360

One of my favourite experiences was Vulkane in 3D und 360. I worked at this exhibit two out of the three days helping two people at a time every three minutes experience this. I had watched a number of videos before this one and when I watched this one I said Wow because the experience was so beautiful. The quality is excellent and there are some vistas that are spectacular. We are familiar with watching volcanic eruptions but with this experience we are watching the scene as if we are there. As the volcano erupts we can see the projectiles and follow their course through the sky. This is a novel experience for many of us.

Spring is finally back and the fun sports are about to start again. Via Ferrata, Rock climbing, hiking and other sports will be possible and we will see what new places I explore. While waiting for the season to start properly I took some time to film bees pollinating a form of apple tree. The images were captured with a Sony PMW-200. This camera records high quality images. Springwatch - some swiss bees from Mainvision on Vimeo. This summer I will work on projects and share them.I hope to realise my documentary about via ferrata at last. I have acquired some new skills but need to find people with whom to collaborate with.