Earlier this year, Tech Tuesday introduced you to Austin based tech company Blue Goji. They developed technology-packed bands that users put on exercise equipment like ellipticals and stationary bikes. The bands measure a persons movement and translate it to motion or actions in games that they have developed.
"We're going to give you such an immersive experience," said CEO Coleman Fung, "that you just want to do it. You're not even thinking of the exercise."
Fung and his team have made an upgrade since our first story. Combining their bands and app with current Virtual Reality technology, they've created a virtual-reality fitness combination that takes users to different worlds.
"When I took the goggles of," Fung said, "I thought wow - I left that world...and I missed it. "
KVUE's Jason Puckett had the opportunity to test the device. He put on the VR headset and was placed into a first person view of a character on safari. When he moved on the elliptical, the character moved in the game - and when he moved fast enough, the character took flight.
Fung said that the technology not only benefits their product, but also is a boon to VR companies. They've found a way to register movement in virtual worlds using a tool most people understand.
"We're hopefully pushing people not only in the middle of the bell curve," Fund said, "But even seniors and children. If you think about it, anyone who's not that active would benefit from this."
Blue Goji plans to release the VR update to their customers later this year. Owners of the Goji Play, the bands used, will only need an update and a compatible VR headset to use it.
The Goji Play 2 is available at their website for $119.
RELATED STORY: