Holo bike: A new way to exercise and travel around the world from home

Holo bike: A new way to exercise and travel around the world from home

It’s a stationary bike with a 27-inch, 4K stereoscopic display mounted in front of the handlebars.

Saga says the HoloBike can convince riders that they’re actually covering distance, instead of pedaling monotonously inside.

Multiple companies have dabbled with three-dimensional technology for indoor training before, but it usually involves wearing a virtual reality headset of some kind, which isn’t exactly comfortable during a sweaty training session. HoloBike, which is an exercise bike, provides a headset-less solution through its use of holographic images.

The 4K display is also home to infrared sensors that respond according to your eye position to deliver a more realistic spatial perception.

“The stereoscopic viewport simulates the human perception of moving through 3D space, a phenomenon known as optic flow that is fundamental to what makes training outdoors so invigorating (and is the basis for a branch of psychology known as EMDR),” Saga says on the crowdfunding page. “By unlocking that for indoor training, the HoloBike achieves similar mood-boosting benefits while riders tour digital twins of Earth’s most epic trails.”

The HoloBike’s screen uses holographic images to create a more realistic spatial perception

With the kickstarter still open, Saga hasn’t confirmed which routes will be available on the new device, but has confirmed that it is building a library of 3D-constructed options based on real-world locations. These, it says, will cover everywhere from the Alps to the Australian Outback. Each of the routes will “leverage the latest advancements in AI and procedural generation to deliver vivid digital twins of real-life trails from volumetric scans”.

It won’t just be a visual experience either, as the exercise bike uses electromagnetic resistance to simulate the ups and downs of the specific virtual environment. As an added bonus, Saga also says that the device is nearly silent.

Saga is still in the process of crowdfunding, but it surpassed its $25,000 goal within hours of the campaign starting.

Learn more about HoloBike on Kickstarter.

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