Show HN: Getting fit in virtual reality with open source and Godot

This is cool. I own a older rift 2 (the kind with the actual trackers).

I was wondering if anyone has figured out how to put some sort of stickers on kettlebells or dumbbells that would allow for outside tracking? I think it would be pretty nice if it could show me a guided line of how I should move a weight through space, and then just let me attempt to move it through said line.

I think it would also be neat for tracking your actual sets and reps and basically acting as a personal instructor in terms of keeping you focused.

I’ve been wanting something just like this. Thanks and thanks for providing source as well.

Thank you, I am glad that you like it. In the beginning I was thinking about recognizing the exercises but after a while I got comfortable with the motion being driven by the hand and head cues and it being just in between a game and a plain exercise. The cues that are flying at you are just enough distraction from the work you are doing that it pushes the motivation a bit but not enough to be too distracting since you still have to focus on the motions to not hurt yourself.

I do still intend to add some "intelligence" into it to at least track the form of the exercise but that is far down the roadmap

Some food for thought here!

I feel that the biggest challenge is this: What question is VR trying to answer in this regard? What problem does this solve?

What are the impediments that keep seniors from exercising? Is the fitness market too much geared towards young bodies? Is it solving a mental hurdle to get them to exercise? Which hurdle is this? A fear of confronting the increased risk of injury? Re-connecting with (younger) people? Is it about the cost of entry? What kind of senior are you targetting? At 70, you'll have very fit seniors, and you'll have people dealing with a wide variety of health issues. What about price and affordability? What are alternatives that don't involve complex technology?

So, what does VR do? It's a medium. But like any medium, the real value is in the content you offer, and you need to keep that content fresh and engaging. How are you going to differentiate from personal trainers on DVD, television, YouTube,...?

My PT taught me a ton of simple exercises after a bad injury. There's a ton you can do with a simple elastic band and your own body weight. The most important part is to get into a routine and turn it into a habit. So, the technology shouldn't be detracting attention away from the exercise itself.

Motivation is the biggest challenge. You remember Nintendo's Wii Fit? It was awesome! Nobody uses it / talks about it anymore. That's part of the problem: there's always current tech and the expectation of the "next big thing" that draws attention away. Whereas doing exercises in later life is a sustained habit you hope to teach people across multiple years, exceeding the shelf life of technology.

At the moment the exercises are quite intense (or at least fast) so they may not all be suitable for senior players but I do already have slower exercises in the pipeline where the player needs to hold a cue and follow through with the motion (think of yoga and warmup exercises)

As for the headset. I already am used to it but I hope that the next gen headset will address the fitness aspect as well.

I am actually also eyeing those AR glasses (like the Nreal). The game mechanic and graphics are simple enough that it should be a straight forward translation, the only thing I am worried about is the narrow field of view, but even that could work since the exercises are all focused as coming from the front of the player.

Ah, yes. While the Quest is wireless it still would be a short run :) It's similar to the knee high running exercise one can do when running in place but I can't track that yet.