

Show HN: My exercise bike hooked up to an xbox - pedal faster to drive faster. - acgourley
http://projectexcitebike.blogspot.com/

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ArcticCelt
I am presently typing this from my exertainement bike :)

It's a recumbent stationary bicycle to which I installed a little platform
where my laptop stand. I can watch movies, play games, browse Internet social
news sites while not feeling guilty for not working.

When I feel zealous I even read technical material, code and do anything that
is considered work, however it's more difficult to keep a good cadence when
doing too serious stuff.

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Timothee
I could see such a setup with a hook between your pedaling and the sleep
system of the computer: if you stop pedaling, it goes to sleep quickly. It
shouldn't be too hard for someone who knows what he's doing.

Next step is authorizing all the "time-wasters" (hulu, HN...) only on that
computer. It would surely work for me.

~~~
acgourley
You should checkout the web cycle:
[http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/10/webcycle-provides-
pedal-p...](http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/10/webcycle-provides-pedal-
powered-internet-reason-to-dodge-browse/)

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acgourley
As I've been working on this I've been kicking around the idea of having a
small run of these produced. The design is quite practical for this, but the
economics are questionable. I feel like at best I'd make my contracting rate,
and at worst lose my capital. But it would be fun. Any feedback in that
regard?

~~~
replicatorblog
What are the cost of goods on components/labor? It seems like it would be
worthwhile to manufacture a small run, if you think you can make your
contracting rate. There seems to be bit of a move towards proprietary hardware
(Boxee, Smith & Tinker, FitBit) in the star tup world so bringing a
physical/electronic product to market is a neat/valuable experience.

Worst case you could just make it a "kit" and sell through AdaFruit or
Sparkfun, in that case your cost will just be parts, a cardboard box and some
miscellaneous packing materials.

~~~
acgourley
Probably 20-30 in parts + 30 dollars for the controller + labor. Yes I would
have to sell the xbox control with some minor labor done on it.

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rms
I will buy the Natal version. Maybe you can patent some version of an exercise
controller hooked up to a 3d camera system?

This is a really cool thing to have built; I remember playing a game of
exactly this nature at Disneyworld more than than ten years ago.

~~~
acgourley
I'm very curious if Natal will be able to pick up that kind of skeletal
movement and get the kind of fidelity necessary. If so it's clearly a better
solution than mine.

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bioweek
I really want to try this! I want to try it with an elliptical. I currently
have a little TV in front of it, do you think a projector would be more
immersive == more exercise?

Are the 5 sensors really necessary, or would it be ok with just one?

~~~
yan
If your goal is to create a more immersive experience to encourage yourself to
run more, I'd really suggest plotting an outdoor course[1] and trying to run
the whole thing. I found nothing motivates me more than that: you always have
a set goal and destination in mind, your scenery's always changing, you're
outside!, and you can keep tabs on how well you feel past certain landmarks
and watch yourself improve over time.

[1] I use gmap-pedometer.com

~~~
bioweek
Very good point. I was loving running outdoors but then my knees started
bothering me :-(

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Scott_MacGregor
Folks, we have a 1st place winner of the _2010 HN Science Fair_ here.
Seriously though, way to think outside the box. X-Box that is, lol.

Really though, nice job, I’m impressed. This is an interesting invention.

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far33d
This would be really cool if it used Power instead of speed....

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acgourley
Yeah that would be a good twist on it, but in a way it always supports that;
you can adjust the top speed and bike resistance yourself. The only difference
is you need to adjust both controls at once instead of just changing one.

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Alex3917
This would be much better if speed was a function of |current_bpm -
target_bpm|. Rewarding you based on how fast you're pedaling makes no sense.

~~~
kogir
For a racing game, that wouldn't work well at all. You can't change your heart
rate with sufficient speed to control a vehicle.

