A new virtual reality fitness experience which seeks to mirror mountain biking on the Andalusian Coast in Spain, by being connected to an exercise bike, has launched.
FreeDriver VR seeks to immerse users in the experience of mountain biking on the Spanish coast, so when users hit a steep slope within the VR world, this difficulty level will be instantly mimic by their exercise bike. It is compatible with the majority of Kettler exercise bikes, a key partner for the product, and the VR experience is delivered by HTC Vive, Oculus Rift or Open VR headsets. Users will just need a Bluetooth connection to pair their devices up and for those without a VR headset, they can instead run FreeDriver VR off their TV and use a game controller to navigate.
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The experience has “sandbox” gaming mechanics, whereby users will be able to explore large areas. However, gamification is a critical part of the experience with users being able to take part in competitive races, which are broken into sprints, laps or time trials. In addition to this, bikes are fully customizable within the experience.
This competitive experience is underpinned by a platform FreeDriver VR calls Superplay, which stores a user’s workout and gaming progress in the cloud and a global leaderboard tracks users’ performance against others. Using the Superplay platform, users can review their own statistics and also challenge any player in the world based off this leader board.
FreeDriver VR is the first product to be created by GymCraft, a software and game-development company based in Malaga, Spain which seeks to integrate VR gaming experiences into fitness regimes. The product won best of 2015″ prize at the prestigious CeBit computer expo and former unified heavyweight champion of the world Wladimir Klitschko has tested FreeDriver VR in public.