9 ms·

It would be really neat if this could be used with Google Streetview. Another cool addition would be an accelerometer on the handlebars to enable steering (thou

It would be really neat if this could be used with Google Streetview. Another cool addition would be an accelerometer on the handlebars to enable steering (though I guess that would be problematic with a stationary bike).

jasoncartwright 11y ago
There are already some training bikes that license Google Maps data - https://www.ifit.com/products/tdf https://www.ifit.com/products/tdf
jc4p 11y ago
Agreed - It seems trivial to build a Street View API integration into Unity or Unreal Engine 4.
- thirdsun 11y ago
  I always wondered why games like Euro Truck Simulator never tried to use real geo data (not necessarily street view, but just accurate streets, shapes, cities and distances) for their games. After all, trying to rebuild a miniature europe seems like a dead end at some point and, maybe I'm alone with that, but using real world times to drive from Amsterdam to Berlin on a realistic route feels way more interesting to me.
  - jc4p 11y ago
    Building realistic looking modes of the real world is a lot harder than building graphics in games like that looked, the last time I played one.
    - moron4hire 11y ago
      Also, licensing issues. Map data for commercial projects is not cheap.
  - lfowles 11y ago
    See X-Plane, which uses OSM data and extrapolates from that.
- random_rr 11y ago
  Trivial? Are you sure that's the right word for what you're describing?
  - jc4p 11y ago
    Uh, I have experience with VR, a year of experience in Unreal Engine 4, and used to work professional as a game developer, so yes :) You gotta keep in mind this is 2D projections too, not real 3D models, all it is is wrap-around images served rotated around a central camera.
    - random_rr 11y ago
      I had 4 years of experience with UE3.5 (admittedly, I have not tried UE4), but it's far from trivial in that environment. Perhaps UE4 makes this process much easier, but I can't see it approaching "trivial." When I see the words "trivial," I think of a weekend project - not something that would involve tons of man hours.
      - jc4p 11y ago
        Shared vocabularies are hard :) My definition of trivial is "I can do it in less than half a day", which I've done this exact thing with before (to be able to navigate our office via our indoors Street View map)
        random_rr 11y ago
        Fair enough. Thanks for the conversation :)
JDDunn9 11y ago
I kinda feel like the VR bike simulation would be the most boring experience. Put something like Mario Kart up there.
- smokeAndMirrors 11y ago
  As someone who hates exercising, I found myself compelled to return to stroll around new virtual worlds. That said, a proper game is always going to be more interesting ;)
obsurveyor 11y ago
You can get turntable riser rings that will enable this quite easily. You could even potentially modify the riser ring instead of adding more wires to the bike for more linear input(one axis instead of three).
fiftyacorn 11y ago
I tried this a few years ago as an experiment and built a site around it - www.routeviewer.com - the cycling is disabled A video is available at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujA9AqCs0Ok https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujA9AqCs0Ok I initially connect up an arduino, but then moved to ant+ protocol over a dongle. . The biggest problem is the refresh rates arent good enough on Streetview for proper cycling - plus the usage on google maps was high - so i ditched it
smokeAndMirrors 11y ago
Adding steering is a logical next step. Meter the steering wheel's rotation, map it to the camera. I've heard several recommendations to integrate this with Streetview, but IMO the resolution necessary for moving in small increments isn't there. It's much better served with a 3D environment.

jasoncartwright 11y ago

There are already some training bikes that license Google Maps data - https://www.ifit.com/products/tdf https://www.ifit.com/products/tdf

jc4p 11y ago

Agreed - It seems trivial to build a Street View API integration into Unity or Unreal Engine 4.

thirdsun 11y ago
I always wondered why games like Euro Truck Simulator never tried to use real geo data (not necessarily street view, but just accurate streets, shapes, cities and distances) for their games. After all, trying to rebuild a miniature europe seems like a dead end at some point and, maybe I'm alone with that, but using real world times to drive from Amsterdam to Berlin on a realistic route feels way more interesting to me.
- jc4p 11y ago
  Building realistic looking modes of the real world is a lot harder than building graphics in games like that looked, the last time I played one.
  - moron4hire 11y ago
    Also, licensing issues. Map data for commercial projects is not cheap.
- lfowles 11y ago
  See X-Plane, which uses OSM data and extrapolates from that.
random_rr 11y ago
Trivial? Are you sure that's the right word for what you're describing?
- jc4p 11y ago
  Uh, I have experience with VR, a year of experience in Unreal Engine 4, and used to work professional as a game developer, so yes :) You gotta keep in mind this is 2D projections too, not real 3D models, all it is is wrap-around images served rotated around a central camera.
  - random_rr 11y ago
    I had 4 years of experience with UE3.5 (admittedly, I have not tried UE4), but it's far from trivial in that environment. Perhaps UE4 makes this process much easier, but I can't see it approaching "trivial." When I see the words "trivial," I think of a weekend project - not something that would involve tons of man hours.
    - jc4p 11y ago
      Shared vocabularies are hard :) My definition of trivial is "I can do it in less than half a day", which I've done this exact thing with before (to be able to navigate our office via our indoors Street View map)
      - random_rr 11y ago
        Fair enough. Thanks for the conversation :)

JDDunn9 11y ago

I kinda feel like the VR bike simulation would be the most boring experience. Put something like Mario Kart up there.

smokeAndMirrors 11y ago
As someone who hates exercising, I found myself compelled to return to stroll around new virtual worlds. That said, a proper game is always going to be more interesting ;)

obsurveyor 11y ago

You can get turntable riser rings that will enable this quite easily. You could even potentially modify the riser ring instead of adding more wires to the bike for more linear input(one axis instead of three).

fiftyacorn 11y ago

I tried this a few years ago as an experiment and built a site around it - www.routeviewer.com - the cycling is disabled A video is available at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujA9AqCs0Ok https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujA9AqCs0Ok I initially connect up an arduino, but then moved to ant+ protocol over a dongle. . The biggest problem is the refresh rates arent good enough on Streetview for proper cycling - plus the usage on google maps was high - so i ditched it

smokeAndMirrors 11y ago

Adding steering is a logical next step. Meter the steering wheel's rotation, map it to the camera. I've heard several recommendations to integrate this with Streetview, but IMO the resolution necessary for moving in small increments isn't there. It's much better served with a 3D environment.