Walking or running on treadmills and riding stationery bikes are the next best thing to actually exercising outside. But sometimes it can be boring that you dread going on these machines. There are of course those that have devices on them so you can watch your favorite videos while working out. Sometimes though they can prove distracting or it may not be enough to quench your boredom as you ride, run, or walk. And if you love the outdoors but cannot go and exercise there, being on the machines can be a chore.
Designer: Layer
Saga Holographic partnered with design agency Layer to come up with Holobike, a stationary bike with a hologram screen that doesn’t need a headset or eyewear to work. Instead, you get a panoramic light-field display that lets you imagine that you’re on an actual trail biking around instead of inside a gym or your room. It’s not just a simple display though as the stereoscopic viewport actually gives you the perception that you are moving through that space and hopefully break that idea that stationary biking is boring and monotonous.
The screen has a 4K LCD overlaid with a thin sheet of microlenses so you get a “crystal clear portal” as if you’re inside the 3D landscapes and biking through them. The 27-inch display has an infrared depth sensor so you get a life-like spatial perception without having to use wearables that may distract you as you’re biking. For now, you can either cruise the Alps or ride across the Outback but they will be adding more to the library. These are actually reconstructed from the digital scans of actual trails and put into 3D form.
As for the bike itself, it has an adjustable frame so you get a comfortable riding experience. It also has electromagnetic resistance to adapt to real-life biking and a polymer drivetrain belt that gives you almost silent pedaling prowess. As someone who is bored with stationery biking, this can be a good way to encourage me to work out indoors, although I will probably prefer watching my own videos rather than looking at different trails, but that may just be me.
