Aussie scientists develop 3D GPS maps for sports fans to track Tour de France riders

Cycling fans will from this year be able to track their favorite Tour de France riders, after Australian scientists developed a revolutionary 3D interactive map of the grueling event's course.

Fans will be able to interact with the Doarama maps, developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), and experience every hill climb and sprint, while "virtually" taking in the surrounding landscapes that spread across France.

The CSIRO's Data61 Software Engineer and head of Doarama, Pete Field said the revolutionary 3D maps were changing how the average fan experiences endurance events, which are traditionally restricted in the amount of TV coverage they receive.

"Until now we've 'made do' with a 2D overhead map and a separate terrain profile," Field said in a statement released on Thursday.

"3D fly-through maps were only available to large media broadcasters, and even then, these maps were limited to a single point-of-view, and only made available for the largest races."

"With Doarama, sport routes can be made available online, and it is completely interactive."

Field said fans could change the perspective of the maps, while they could also skip ahead of the pack to preview the terrain up ahead.

"The viewer can move around inside the 3D world while the route is laid out before them," he said.

Field said the maps would one day be used in a variety of different sports, with an expectation the Doarama maps would be used at the upcoming Rio Olympics.

"We're expanding into more sports including base-jumping competitions and we're excited to see the new ways people use Doarama," he said.

Doarama can be accessed by mobile devices as well as on desktop computers, and gives sport enthusiasts "the opportunity to experience the walk, run, hike, cycle or ski route, using its GPS route visualizations". Endit