Use Case Overview
While a great option for beginners due to controlled environment and accessibility, indoor cycling caters to individuals of all fitness levels. Experienced cyclists, including amateur and professional outdoor cyclists, have long turned to indoor cycling to maintain training during unfavorable weather conditions, improve endurance, or work on specific training goals.
All these benefits come at a cost — due to the lack of social interactions, limited representation of the actual training conditions, and no scenery variation, indoor cycling is nowhere near as engaging as cycling outdoors. But what if you could use latest tech to enrich indoor cycling training?
What follows is an idea for a product that uses virtual reality (VR) to offer immersive, customizable, and effective indoor training experiences for biking enthusiasts, no matter their real-life cycling experience. Cycling gear manufacturers could capture some of the indoor cycling market, predicted to growth at a CAGR of 6.13% in the next several years, by adding virtual elements to physical products, thus creating additional revenue streams, increasing product adoption, and gaining valuable data on customer preferences.
This is a conceptual demonstration created by Nomtek. It is intended to inspire by illustrating the potential benefits of utilizing Apple Vision Pro - a new, fascinating technology whose positive impact will be large but is yet to be discovered. It is also intended to show Nomtek's engineering competences and application delivery capabilities.
Source: Midjourney
Source: Midjourney
Features
With high-quality spatial video and audio, and with multiple features that leverage the fully virtual environment, VR turns indoor cycling into an immersive and customizable ride that’s as close as it gets to training outdoors.
Immersive training environment
Stunning high-definition visuals, surround audio, and realistic simulations of various track conditions all create an immersive training environment that accurately mirrors the actual outdoor cycling experience.
Customized training programs
Combined with a smart bike and associated gear, VR can simulate various racing situations and conditions, including different routes, terrains, drafting effects, and road surfaces — these all allow for specific training adaptations and a range of scenarios. Users can enjoy full-body workouts for every fitness level.
Variety of tracks and routes
Apart from relying on tracks designed especially for the app, a VR cycling simulator could very well incorporate real-life tracks and routes, enabling cyclists to try themselves against iconic tracks known from top competitions or enjoy the most scenic and beautiful routes from around the world.
Interactive 3D avatars
Indoor cyclists are no longer alone on the virtual route, being now able to cycle along realistic avatars of coaches and cycling champions, as well as training together with their headset-wearing friends.
Performance metrics and feedback
VR cycling training programs can track and analyze performance metrics in real-time, such as speed, cadence, power output, and heart rate, enabling cyclists to adjust their training intensity and technique to optimize their results.
Source: Midjourney
Value for cyclists
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Community and Social Engagement
VR indoor cycling can be further expanded through virtual cycling communities, where cyclists can join group rides, participate in virtual races, and interact with fellow riders from around the world, fostering a sense of camaraderie. Working out together, users can motivate each other during the more difficult workouts, including interval training.
Virtual Coaching and Guidance
To improve their performance, virtual coaches and instructors can guide cyclists through training sessions, providing tips, motivation, and encouragement in the form of instructional videos, audio cues, and other interactive coaching features.
Virtual track walkthrough
Cyclists preparing for a training or a real-life competition can take virtual tours of the tracks to mentally prepare and better understand the challenges they will need to face during the race.
Convenience and Safety
Immersive cycling enables cyclists to train and compete using high-fidelity representations of real-life tracks in the comfort of their homes, reducing the need for travel, avoiding jetlag, and minimizing the risk of traffic-related cycling injuries.
Source: Midjourney
Value for gear manufacturers
Cycling gear manufacturers can benefit from VR indoor cycling by creating additional streams of revenue, boosting product adoption, and gaining valuable insight into their customers’ behaviors and preferences.
Additional Revenue Streams
Cyclists may pay extra for superior VR experiences, such as subscription-based workout programs, special training sessions with top coaches, access to exclusive routes, and additional workout options for groups of friends.
Increased product adoption
Immersive training experiences in VR are more enjoyable, challenging, and rewarding than traditional indoor cycling, which could encourage customers to use the gear more frequently and consistently, thus leading to higher levels of customer satisfaction, retention, and repeat purchases over time.
Data analytics and user insights
As they take place in a fully digital environment, VR experiences can capture valuable data and insights about customer behaviors and interactions with the cycling gear, giving manufacturers a deeper understanding of customer needs and preferences that could transform into better, data-driven decisions about product development and marketing.
