Active gaming
UVic engineering students try to get kids active
VICTORIA (CUP) -- Move over, Nintendo Wii -- there's a brand new way to stay fit while playing video games.
A team of software engineering students from the University of Victoria has developed a stationary bicycle that hooks up to Microsoft's Flight Simulator X. The Future of Exercise won first prize on March 30 at an event showcasing fourth-year UVic engineering projects.
Instead of pushing a button to get the airplane going, users pedal the recumbent bike to start the plane and keep it in the air. A joystick is used to steer.
Ron Negrych, one of the three students in charge of the project, said their machine was designed to combat obesity. “This is to get [kids] exercising while they're in front of the TV,” he said.
“The faster you pedal, the faster the plane goes,” said Greg Leah, another student who worked on the project. If the rider stops pedalling for too long, the plane loses altitude and crashes.
A sensor determines how fast the user is pedalling. That information is relayed to a computer. “The software tells the computer game, ‘OK, he's pedalling at this number of [revolutions per minute], so therefore make the throttle at this level,'” Negrych explained.
Riders can adjust the resistance of the pedals, making it easier or more difficult to pedal. The resistance is caused by electromagnets, so there are no gears to shift or chains to get your jeans caught in.
“Somebody who is elderly but needs exercise, they can put it on the basic, simplest level,” said Negrych. “You might have a pro athlete that gets to that stage where [they say], ‘OK, I've got to get my heart rate at a certain rate -- jack it up to the top level.”
While it's fun, the technology won't be affordable for everyone. Negrych said the components cost roughly $2,500.
“Eventually, we'd like to adjust the response to what the airplane is trying to do,” said Susan Perkins, the project's final member. She wants the resistance to change based on the conditions in the flight simulator -- wind, for example. Perkins wants the experience to be like flying the Gossamer Albatross, a plane operated by pedalling.
The developers suggested that in the future, people might want to expand the technology to other types of video games. “That might be their goal -- to make it into a first-person shooter game, or a road racing game or a BMX game,” said Negrych.
VICTORIA (CUP) -- Move over, Nintendo Wii -- there's a brand new way to stay fit while playing video games.
A team of software engineering students from the University of Victoria has developed a stationary bicycle that hooks up to Microsoft's Flight Simulator X. The Future of Exercise won first prize on March 30 at an event showcasing fourth-year UVic engineering projects.
Instead of pushing a button to get the airplane going, users pedal the recumbent bike to start the plane and keep it in the air. A joystick is used to steer.
Ron Negrych, one of the three students in charge of the project, said their machine was designed to combat obesity. “This is to get [kids] exercising while they're in front of the TV,” he said.
“The faster you pedal, the faster the plane goes,” said Greg Leah, another student who worked on the project. If the rider stops pedalling for too long, the plane loses altitude and crashes.
A sensor determines how fast the user is pedalling. That information is relayed to a computer. “The software tells the computer game, ‘OK, he's pedalling at this number of [revolutions per minute], so therefore make the throttle at this level,'” Negrych explained.
Riders can adjust the resistance of the pedals, making it easier or more difficult to pedal. The resistance is caused by electromagnets, so there are no gears to shift or chains to get your jeans caught in.
“Somebody who is elderly but needs exercise, they can put it on the basic, simplest level,” said Negrych. “You might have a pro athlete that gets to that stage where [they say], ‘OK, I've got to get my heart rate at a certain rate -- jack it up to the top level.”
While it's fun, the technology won't be affordable for everyone. Negrych said the components cost roughly $2,500.
“Eventually, we'd like to adjust the response to what the airplane is trying to do,” said Susan Perkins, the project's final member. She wants the resistance to change based on the conditions in the flight simulator -- wind, for example. Perkins wants the experience to be like flying the Gossamer Albatross, a plane operated by pedalling.
The developers suggested that in the future, people might want to expand the technology to other types of video games. “That might be their goal -- to make it into a first-person shooter game, or a road racing game or a BMX game,” said Negrych.
