We know making time to work out can be a challenge. From finding a fitness routine you actually like to remembering to bring your yoga mat to work, it’s easy to let a few days (or weeks) go between your sweat sessions. For years, trainers and equipment companies have been trying to come up with ideas to make exercise easier to stick with it. Now German design firm Hyve has created a workout station that allows users to virtually simulate all kinds of cool stuff, including exercise. That’s right, even exercise is going the virtual route.
The station, named Icaros, provides a far more inclusive and intensive workout than any virtual-reality video game ever could. According to Senior Innovation Designer and exercise enthusiast Johannes Scholl, the design works by using balance. You lay horizontally, using mainly left, right, up and down movements, which tones muscles while increasing balance and flexibility. Repetition allows users to tighten motions while improving at the game. The motions are then sent into the machine using your phone’s accelerometer (an electromechanical device that measures acceleration forces) and into the virtual world through sensors, thus transporting you into the scene.
Since 2012, Hyve has worked diligently with bodybuilders, focus groups and various concepts to get to this current prototype. The machine would allow you to work out over mountains or cross huge bodies of water, all while in the comfort of your own home. With so many VR scenes to choose from, you’ll never complain about a boring workout ever again.
Hyve is planning a crowdfunding campaign that will hit the Internet this coming summer, so keep your eyes, wallet and muscles ready.
Would virtual reality make you more inclined to work out? Leave your thoughts below in our comments section.