What it does
This treadmill combats workout boredom with gamified experiences and realistic terrains. Featuring 3-angled screens, dynamic lighting, adaptive brightness, and an intuitive UI, it offers an immersive, motivating, and easy-to-navigate fitness journey.
Your inspiration
The idea came from noticing how monotonous and demotivating indoor workouts can be, especially on traditional treadmills. Many users struggle to stay engaged due to a lack of variety and stimulation. Inspired by the success of gamification in fitness apps and the growing demand for immersive experiences, we aimed to reimagine the treadmill. By combining gamified elements, realistic terrains, and sensory features like dynamic lighting and 3 angled screens, we created a solution that transforms workouts into exciting, motivating sessions. Our goal is to make fitness both enjoyable and consistent.
How it works
Our treadmill design uses a combination of screens, lighting, and software to create an immersive workout experience. It features three angled screens in front of the user that display realistic, animated terrains such as mountains, forests, or city streets based on the workout selected. As users walk or run, the visuals respond in real-time, making them feel like they’re actually moving through the environment. To boost immersion, the treadmill’s lights and screen brightness automatically adjust to match the time of day or the terrain brighter for sunny outdoor scenes, dimmer for evening or indoor paths. This not only enhances realism but also reduces eye strain. The treadmill is controlled through a simple user interface. Users can easily select terrains, set goals or adjust intensity using large, clear buttons and icons. Together these features create a highly engaging, motivating experience that makes users look forward to each session.
Design process
We began by identifying a key problem: traditional treadmill workouts often feel repetitive and unmotivating. Through user interviews and surveys, we found a strong demand for more immersive and engaging indoor fitness experiences. We conceptualized a treadmill that uses visuals, lighting, and intuitive controls to simulate outdoor terrains and environments. Initial sketches focused on screen placement, user flow, and how to integrate gamified elements without overwhelming the user. The first prototype included a front-facing screen with preloaded terrain visuals and basic lighting effects. While it demonstrated the concept, feedback revealed the need for a more immersive setup. In response, we added two angled side screens for a panoramic view and introduced adaptive lighting that changes with the virtual terrain. This significantly enhanced immersion. We then developed a non-touch, button-based control system simple, physical controls placed within easy reach, designed for ease of use even during high-speed workouts. The final prototype now includes three HD angled screens, real-time terrain response, dynamic lighting, and app syncing for fitness tracking. Ongoing feedback continues to guide refinements, making each workout more motivating and realistic.
How it is different
Our design stands out by combining immersive technology with user-friendly functionality, tailored specifically for treadmill workouts. Unlike traditional treadmills or VR-based systems, it uses three angled HD screens to create a wide, panoramic view of realistic terrains no headset needed. Dynamic lighting synced with the virtual environment enhances realism, adjusting brightness and color based on time of day or terrain. While most treadmills focus only on physical performance metrics, ours adds gamified elements and adaptive visuals to keep users engaged and motivated. The control system uses intuitive, non-touch physical buttons for easy access during workouts. This seamless integration of hardware and software delivers a motivating, immersive experience that redefines indoor running offering something no other treadmill or fitness solution currently provides.
Future plans
As students, our next step is to improve the design based on feedback. We plan to expand terrains, add interactive features like weather effects and progress-based rewards to make workouts more engaging. We're also working on making the system compact and affordable for home use. To add more value, we're exploring ways the treadmill can be multifunctional like doubling as a standing desk or display station when not in use or maybe something else. On the business side, we’re focusing on small-scale testing. Our goal is to see this product in homes, making immersive and motivating workouts more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
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