A crowdfunding campaign for the exercise bike, named HoloBike, has smashed its target, meaning holograms could soon be a part of indoor training
It may soon be possible to ride real-life roads from the comfort of your home in immersive 3D without the use of a headset after Saga’s crowdfunding campaign for its HoloBike smashed its target.
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 holograms.
Sporting a similar appearance to a Peloton bike, the indoor trainer has a 27-inch screen extending out from the handlebars. Except, far from your average screen, it uses holograms that are visible to the naked eye to give, in the words of Saga, “a visceral sense that you’re there on the trail”.
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.”
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”.
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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. The total raised currently stands at over $45,000 with 49 days still to go, so there’s a good chance the HoloBike could be available to the wider public in the future.
Learn more about HoloBike on Kickstarter.
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Maria Malik is your guide to the immersive world of Virtual Reality (VR). With a passion for VR technology, she explores the latest VR headsets, applications, and experiences, providing readers with in-depth reviews, industry insights, and a glimpse into the future of virtual experiences.
