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VR Exercise Bike (VirZoom)

dinoroger
Adventurer
http://virzoom.com/

So I tried the VirZoom at Pax South 2016 this weekend. While the games were no AAA titles they still made me forget I was exercising. So I decided to take the risk and purchase one and now I must wait until it ships sometime in Q1.

So here is my pros and cons without having the bike yet but from just testing it:

Pros:
- Makes me forget that I am exercising
- There should be allot of different types of games since they looked fairly basic (basic is a pro and a con).
- Works on the big 3 HMD's (Oculus, Vive, PS4)
- I am a bigger guy and the bike felt comfortable. The seat was a wide seat and not one of those bike seats that you insert into you (TMI).
- I get to lose real mass in a virtual world.
- Looks like they will have a SDK so other companies may create content or adapt current software to it.
- Some games are multi-player so the competitive edge may make you pedal harder.
- Light, portable and Bluetooth, so setup looks to be easy.

Cons:
- The game demos felt like tablet type games running on VR.
- Games may get boring quicker than normal games.
- Someone having a heart attack while using your product may not be good press (this goes for an exercise equipment though).
- I could see the sweat making my HMD get a little nasty. Thank goodness Oculus will have replacements pads.
- The heat in the HMD may be trapped causing fog. Going to see if this will be a true problem and if so are there any like diving goggle sprays that would help.
- Like my other exercise bike this may end up collecting dust if I can't self motivate.

I am a consumer and this post is not trying to sell this (I have no links to VirZoom). This is a discussion mainly on VR exercise equipment in general.

So what are your thoughts on using VR for exercise.
31 REPLIES 31

buz11
Honored Guest
"w_benjamin" wrote:
Do the pedals use magnet sensors or does it use something with a constant voltage, like a joystick does?

Hey that's secret, at least until we ship and people open them up. Spoiler: they use magnets!

Over a year ago, our first prototype used an IR sensor that read pieces of tape passing by a rear wheel on a trainer, turning it into a giant optical encoder. That gave great results but wasn't practical to install and relied on a trainer. We then tried a wireless accelerometer on the hub and, alternately, pedal crank when the hub wasn't accessible on stationary bikes. That wasn't able to measure slow pedaling well, and was hard to fit every bike unless we used coin cells which would need regular replacing. Magnets work like our optical encoder but are even more reliable and built right into our pedaling resistance mechanism.

buz11
Honored Guest
"dinoroger" wrote:
Another technical question. Does the SDK support backwards peddling? I would be highly motivated to pedal my virtual pedal kayak away from that hungry alligator.

Yes it does, and thanks for the game idea! That really is the kind of fight or flight thing that we're going for to motivate pedaling. Reverse pedaling also works well for our tank game.

Lionreza
Explorer
will the software support Ant + for those of us who already own a bike and trainer ?

ThreeDeeVision
Superstar
There will need to be a special HMD for exercising or it will not work. Unless you are so fit you no longer sweat while working out (then what is the point). You will need massive air flow to make sure your sweat doesn't condensate on the lenses. I have fogged my DK2 up using it too soon after walking home from work, so I could just imagine how quickly it would fog if I was exercising while wearing one.

Love the idea, but the technology isn't there yet. I bet they make an 'active' HMD model eventually though with massive airflow and materials that will play nice with sweat.
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buz11
Honored Guest
"Lionreza" wrote:
will the software support Ant + for those of us who already own a bike and trainer ?

No, for some reasons I've mentioned. Manuevering your VR avatar on a bike generates a leaning response in many people which is not safe on a trainer. A trainer+bike has a triangular footprint like a tripod while our footprint is like a car, and we've widened our stance for added safety.

We've also added a bunch of buttons and sensors our games use that we couldn't practically add to existing stationary bikes. It was cheaper and more reliable to make our own bike and it'll fit into more people's living rooms. Not to mention that it's quiet--we experimented with a lot of trainers and all of them generate too much noise to hear your game without blasting the volume.

Our preorder special is $200 for the bike including all games and membership features for life. We think it's a pretty good deal even if you already have an exercise bike.

buz11
Honored Guest
"ThreeDeeVision" wrote:
There will need to be a special HMD for exercising or it will not work. Unless you are so fit you no longer sweat while working out (then what is the point). You will need massive air flow to make sure your sweat doesn't condensate on the lenses. I have fogged my DK2 up using it too soon after walking home from work, so I could just imagine how quickly it would fog if I was exercising while wearing one.

Love the idea, but the technology isn't there yet. I bet they make an 'active' HMD model eventually though with massive airflow and materials that will play nice with sweat.

I also fog up motorcycle helmets and my DK2, but a $6 bottle of "Spit" goggle spray eliminates that. One squirt and it doesn't fog for days.

And you and I seem to be the exception. More than 2000 people have broken a sweat on VirZOOM at shows, and nobody ever fogs them up. That includes the tens of alpha testers who have been playing our games at home since August and logged thousands of virtual miles.

We look forward to HMDs being ever lighter and airier, but VZ already works great with this years headsets. This post highlights the lightness, removable foam, and lack of fogging of the latest Rift beta

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=28601&p=314960&hilit=fogging#p314960

The Vive and PSVR also never fog for me like the DK2, and the PSVR doesn't even touch your face or absorb sweat. If it's still a concern, a $30 standing fan further eliminates those problems and keeps you cool.

helifrek
Explorer
Is there any chance that this could be used with other games. I am mainly interested in flying games. If I could use it for something like Microsoft fsx and build custom pedal powered craft, that would be really cool.
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jademan
Heroic Explorer
Just thought I'd share another (likely much more expensive) VR bike option I found for those interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxSpWZjn3eg

Now I just need a winning lotto ticket & a bigger basement. I know I need a walking/running sim (Omni), motion-sim race seat, flight seat, motorcycle, and now bicycle seat... And OF COURSE that Birdly sim machine (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyJ2BC3-v3Y)...

Good thing I never had kids! I like being one way too much.

VR exercise is inviting, but apart from the sweat problem... the price of the setup probably exceeds the price of a really really good bike.

I like all things VR... flying a jet plane isn't an option in the real world.. and shooting real people isn't something I want to get into... but bike rides? well I have to think for some things it's good to get out of the house and do it for real

przecinek
Rising Star
I've seen interview with HHG and I'm hopeful. I wouldnt get hung up on the whole exercising aspect, it's more of a controller than an excecise bike.
As others have pointed out it's no different from ODTs when you're running for your life etc. If you want realism ...you will sweat regardless 😉