PuchingPro looks to take the exercise and gaming to a different place and in some ways is the next generation of the Exergame Station. Still in its early stages of development, this interactive project has a lot going for it including its ability to independently change fighting conditions such as: agility, speed and power on a control panel. It can randomly throw both jabs and hooks at different speeds and from changing directions. Ding-Ding! Ready....Fight!
WIBC (Wouldn't It Be Cool)
Have a scoring system linked to an on-screen display
Have an in-game avatar linked and synced to the PunchingPro so that you're really immersed
Add an arcade punching game (BMI Gaming featured Boxer One & Dragon Punch) feature like using accelerometers to track total forces exerted and use that to add to the overall score or rating.
I've been wanting to showcase the Exergame Station for a while and I've actually had a great chance to test it out here at SUNY Cortland. Mike Pelletter was nice enough to drive down here and set up two stations during the 2nd Annual Exergame Expo back in December 2009. We had a blast letting the punching bag (mapped with control buttons) know what to do with your on-screen character.
The great thing about it is that you can play any type of game on this whole-body exergame controller, so long as the action is not too fast. You get a serious workout because you have to use your entire body to play the game - and the fact that you are doing serious kicking and punching at near maximal exertion levels which raises your energy expenditure. Again, the more vigorous the activity, the higher the health benefits - if its done repetitively for a sustained duration of time. Remember the FITT principle? These Exergame Stations were obviously prototypes and one more refined than the ones in the video below so there's no telling what the next version might look like. Keep your eyes open for any updates on the Exergame Station here at the Exergame Lab. In the meantime, get kicking, get active and stay well!
Integrating a LED light system, the interactive punching kit when banged or kicked illuminates to increase playfulness, while the 10 training programs lets the user change exercises and games with minimum fuss.
