((PKG)) VR TREADMILL
((Banner: “Outside” the Gym))
((Reporter/Camera: Elizabeth Lee))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((Map: Austin, Texas))
((NATS))
((KYRA CONSTAM, MARKETING ASSOCIATE, BLUE GOJI))
Our company makes technology that makes fitness fun. I am the marketing associate at Blue Goji here in Austin, Texas. We have been making VR games that make you move, so what we call active VR. We have our Infinity Treadmill that pairs with the VR headset.
((LEONARDO MATTIAZZI, TREADMILL RUNNER))
It was pretty cool. I think I did exercise in, what, three minutes. You have much more motivation to actually get running and do something that pushes your limits a little bit. Not just, ugh, for twenty minutes running a boring treadmill. It’s much more fun.
((KYRA CONSTAM, MARKETING ASSOCIATE, BLUE GOJI))
So the belt keeps you centered as well as giving you that security. Since you’re in VR, you can’t see where your feet are going. So, a lot of VR experiences cause motion sickness because there is a disconnect in the brain, just psychologically. You’re moving in the game but you’re not moving in real life, and we have come up with a solution, active VR. When you’re moving on the treadmill and you’re moving in the game, it mitigates that motion sickness, and you really get full immersion without all the negative side effects.
((LEONARDO MATTIAZZI, TREADMILL RUNNER))
Pretty quickly I adjusted. In the beginning, it’s, you know, it’s a different experience and you don’t know what to do. But, you know, it takes ten seconds to adjust.
((MARK SACKLER, VR TREADMILL TESTER))
You know, it’s funny. I don’t get motion sickness easily, but I got a little, felt a little queasy when I was out of control, so it’s surprisingly realistic. All I could think of when I was doing it, if my wife was doing this, she’d have been barfing all over it, because it’s interesting how the brain works. It was like, going downhill, it felt like I was on a rollercoaster.
((KYRA CONSTAM, MARKETING ASSOCIATE, BLUE GOJI))
There’s a bit of a learning curve for VR in general. I believe that the first time you do it, it is definitely going to be the most disorienting time. And then the more you do it, the more you get used to it. And there’s a bit of a transition between going from the real world into the virtual world. And it just, kind of, takes a second for your brain to adjust to that. So, the base price will be $12,000 dollars. That includes all of the hardware and all of the software. This is a prototype that we have here. It’ll be ready, officially, early 2019. And we are in talks with high-end gyms, VR arcades, as well as rehabilitation centers and physical therapy centers.
((LEONARDO MATTIAZZI, TREADMILL RUNNER))
A lot more fun than a regular treadmill.
