Jogging in a virtual city

In our research, we explore the possibilities for combining digital 3D city representation with a wellness application, and introduce our demo that aims to make running in a gym more inspiring and motivating. We present a prototype, where the running exercise on a treadmill is converted to a distance on the local city map, and visualized in a 3D mirror world presentation of the city. The user leaves a personalized tag on the spot reached, and in addition to his achievement, is able to see the performance of other runners on the streets of the virtual world. We evaluated the system in the gym, where 32 people tried out the prototype. The application was perceived entertaining and interesting, and especially the ability to compare the results with earlier runners was perceived motivating.