Mountain Biking In Virtual Reality With the Oculus Rift and an Actuating Bike

An anonymous reader writes Thanks to the Oculus Rift DK2 VR headset and Activetainment B\01 VR bike, which pitches forward and back according to in-game terrain, has shifting, pedals, breaks, digital resistance control, and allows tilting into turns, users of the system feel like they're careening through a mountain biker's paradise. After working up a sweat in the simulator, the author of this article ruminates on whether or not his experience could be considered "real"; "Much of the feedback of actual mountain biking was present during my ride. Sure, the feedback could be more accurate, and there's still missing sensory information, like the wind through my hair and a certain set of forces on my body, but at what point is a virtual experience real enough to be well, real?"

Comments

so close!

[Gravis Zero]

biking, running and rowing are just the tip of the iceberg! i cant wait for them to release the YARD WORK SIMULATOR!

Re:so close!

[TheRealHocusLocus]

cite "I sit in my cubicle, here on the motherworld. When I die, they will put my body in a box and dispose of it in the cold ground. And in all the million ages to come, I will never breathe, or laugh, or twitch again. So won't you run and play with me here among the teeming mass of humanity? The universe has spared us this moment..."

HELLO?
Could you please take that thing off?
There is a dreary urban landscape to explore.

You know that door opening on to the empty lot, the one that someone painted too thickly, large flakes shedding from the rotting wood? A tiny spider has laid eggs there, they will hatch in a couple weeks. The chain link fence to the South has one link untwisted on the bottom. What could have done that? In your bathroom cabinet under the sink there is a hole where the drain goes into the wall. If you shine a flashlight there you just might glimpse something. Once in a great while a white cockroach is born. How many have you seen? Where would you look? One of the buildings in town has a really incredible basement. Subterranean parking garages typically contain strange crawlspaces. At the bottom of every elevator shaft is a pit where lost items have fallen. There is nothing as exciting and terrifying as a rotten wooden ladder on the roof of a tall building, which (shakily) allows one to climb to its most dramatic and amazing place, where one can sit and dangle the legs over empty space. Where is a largest storm drain, that one can walk into the gloom with a flashlight? Some empty lots in tornado country have storm cellars. One of them is waiting for you to discover the hatch. Do you know where that creek goes? How far could you follow it? Set out right now. Bring a change of clothes, water and snacks and bus fare. That empty lot with the discarded furniture, old tires and lumber is so haphazardly arranged. If someone were to re-arrange the items so that they would touch one another and form a labyrinth, children would find it and walking through. Somewhere next to the railroad track there are discarded metal spikes and the green glass insulators that once suspended telegraph wires. If you spotted your town's wooded areas in Google Earth you might discover a clearing where there is the old foundation of a building. Perhaps it has a basement. Head for that power pylon, the one where massive cable or chain is suspended high above the ground carrying hundreds of thousands of volts. Follow it. Every now and then you will come to a spot that buzzes. Can you hear the variations in power load drawn into distant cities? Somewhere nearby is a tower with a climbable ladder. Somewhere nearby is a small wooded area where people dump old appliances. With a pliers, a cutter and a couple of screwdrivers you could fill a bag with interesting things, that you might some day fit together in a surprising way. Start out in a park or off to one side of town. Now close your eyes and listen until you hear something interesting. Open your eyes and head in the direction of the sound. Discover what it is. Now listen for another. At the end of four hours, where have you traveled to? I had the great fortune to discover one day, while I was out walking, a large steel door leading into the side of a hill. It was slightly open and led into the gloom of a a tunnel with a side tunnel, two other entrances, ladders and hatches. I hope you will find one too some day but you best start looking. Near the ruins of old houses you can spot where there were tended gardens. What might still be growing there? That creek has a spot where water tumbles over something and falls a few feet. Scrounge around to find bits and pieces that harness the power of the water to make a little sculpture that moves or spins. Every few days, bring something else there to add to it. Many buildings in your town have fallout shelters from the 50s and 60s. Somewhere in one of them you'll find the remains of a Civil Defense stockpile, or at the very least, a rusty s

Re:so close!

[peragrin]

apparently you never played farmville on Facebook.

get dizzy?

[vyvepe]

Sounds like a cool way to get dizzy because the acceleration effect on the inner ear will be missing.

when you have road rash

[oheso]

... complete with gravel to tweeze out of the wounds.