We like the idea of technology that combines video games and fitness, and we’ve heard about a few efforts that are under way, but the PaperDude VR has us scratching our heads. Yes, it is a game combined with a bicycle and it even utilizes virtual reality.
But it is sort of the like an old episode of The Simpsons where Bart plays a virtual yard work simulation after doing everything he could to get out of actual yard work. What’s the point in other words? Aren’t video games about saving the world or at least the princess, and with all due respect to those who wake up early to deliver the paper – is this really that compelling of an “adventure?”
So perhaps this isn’t really a full-blown Kinetic(Mis)Shift but we somehow think this technology could be used for so much more. Video after the jump
Fitness is now heading to a new dimension as Traq3D has announced the launch of the next generation TRAZER system, which utilizes the Panasonic Electric Works’ 3D Image Sensing Camera, D-IMager, as the preferred 3D motion detection device for this new product. TRAZER is an innovative interactive exercise technology that was featured on according to the company measures the previously immeasurable fundamental components of movement. It provides the power to detect movement asymmetries and weaknesses to guide rehabilitation, performance enhancement and injury prevention programs.
While this has the appearance of the technology used in current video games, such as the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft’s Kinect for the Xbox360 or the PlayStation Move, it is really a lot more says the technology’s innovator.
Video games such as Rock Band allow players to go on a virtual world tour, even if they’re not jamming in the same city, and first person shooters let players squad up from around the globe. These are just of the advances that gaming has brought to the social experience of virtual reality. Soon you might be able to take part in the Tour de France, or go on a bike tour in distant lands, and instead of faking it ala a game, you can get your sweat on while actually spinning.
At this year’s CeBIT in Germany, Paul Zernicke, a research at the Technical University in Berlin, demonstrated technology that combine an exercise bike with a wall-sized 3D Google Earth map that offered riders to take spins through Beijing’s Forbidden City as well as past the Great Pyramids of Egypt and even to the first stage of last year’s Tour de France.
The bike part offers the usual stuff such as tracking heart rate, calories burned and distance traveled while the VR part offers better scenery than just a TV show or the living room wall. Better still Zernicke promises that this can be more than just a visual travelogue from a bike seat, and offers that a competitive element could be added. So far he’s tested the system with up to six riders at a time.
The CompuTrainer Pro 3D
There are still questions to answer, such as whether you’d actually see your competition – or at least a generic version – added to your screen. And how much flexibility will it offer in where you ride? Otherwise, you’re just racing a clock and a fixed video. Still, this sounds like a great way to see the sights while getting a workout.
In the meantime, there are solutions available today such as the CompuTrainer Pro 3D by Wired Bike.com. It might not be quite as impressive as the technology shown at CeBIT, but it beats just ready a magazine or watching cartoons while you put in the in-door miles.
We like the idea of technology that combines video games and fitness, and we’ve heard about a few efforts that are under way, but the PaperDude VR has us scratching our heads. Yes, it is a game combined with a bicycle and it even utilizes virtual reality.