360 degree cameras already exist. The Giroptic offers live 360 degree streaming for $499. So is Kolor (video above). Immersive Media will stream your live 360 degree video. So will  All360Media and GoPano and RTI and IC RealTech. Famous camera brand Kodak has gone 360. So has Ricoh.

YouTube is accepting 360 degree videos.

Live video streaming is the latest thing.But it will really take off when events are streamed, not just the random updates from self-obsessed folk.

VR headsets are the latest thing.

Combine them all and you get live, 360 degree video. The beauty of this is the ability to be somewhere else, in real time, using a VR headset. That means a sporting event, a concert, your daughter’s first ballet performance, TED talks – basically anything live that you can’t make in person.

Paul McCartney has made available a VR experience of one of his concerts. So has Coldplay. The next step is real time… LiveSphere is an early adopter. Plans have been made to serve 360 degree live video from the Space Station. And Virtually Live is promising a VR experience of your favourite sporting event, with your friends.

I believe the best way to make the experience truly immersive is to cause the viewer to travel (virtually) to the event.

For example, recalling watching the  All Blacks play in Rugby World Cups is more than just a seated viewing of the game itself. I have strong memories of walking to and from the stadium, the other fans on the same journey. I believe that, rather than just watching from the kickoff, fans will like to journey to the event in VR. To get the complete experience.

It’s the journey, not the destination…

Nine hours of what the train driver sees. Not only does it make great background video, but for anyone wanting to visit the area or even take the same journey – it’s a lot better than Google Street View.

It’s not for everyone, but some people will watch it for hours:

The next step is obvious – live streaming video from a camera on a moving vehicle. There are plenty of webcams websites at present, suggesting that some people like looking at static, real-time video. With improvements in technology, especially 5G mobile data, live video from public transport will be possible, and relatively cheap and easy to implement.

As public transport passengers demand fast and continual internet access, getting the feed out there won’t be a problem.

Trains tend to go on journeys that only trains take. But buses (and trams) use public roads, which means that watching a live feed of the driver’s view of a bus will be analogous to driving the route yourself.

And for armchair travellers, the live aspect will bring an extra dimension to the experience.

Ask any video photographer about the importance of movement to maintain interest. In my own experience, when I am being interviewed about a concept or idea, they always want to film me walking into a room, sitting down, and typing on the PC or opening a book and leafing through it. It’s more interesting than a talking head. Taken to an extreme, film director Michael Bay (see above) loves three levels of movement in one shot – movement of the background, movement of the camera, and movement of the actor. While Bay’s movies aren’t popular with film critics, they do make a lot of money, and ultimately it is because movement is better than static.

Such live feeds from public transport are most probably inevitable – who will be the first to make it happen?

Here’s some more train journey videos from Canada and Japan: