Imagine sitting in your armchair with a virtual-reality helmet and a remote control and “visiting” the streets of your favorite city, an art gallery, the Grand Canyon, or…?
There have long been travel documentaries and the like for armchair travelers, but now two computer scientists from the University of Vienna have developed and tested the idea of allowing a remote tourist to control an actual on-the-scene drone for a more “real” experience. They pitch it as also a benefit for disabled travelers.
The drone uses GPS to follow a pre-mapped route (chosen for safety and no obstacles) around the chosen tourist cities and sites, with its video camera going. The user wears a headset with viewing goggles and is able to control speed and direction via head movements. It can fly to a height of 1,000 metres, at a speed of 70 km/h.
David Mirk, one of the developers, says “You really have the feeling that you are there, and you can control what you look at and for how long.” A longer article appeared in TheLocal.at
