The company has integrated a fully automated cable resistance machine, virtual reality hardware, and virtual esport software powered by HTC Vive. Black Box VR has been dubbed a CES 2018 Innovation Awards Honoree and will give the world the first chance to try out the new gym system this week in Las Vegas during CES. The founders of the new gym program are fitness fanatics Ryan DeLuca and Preston Lewis.
“In Black Box you will utilize strength, agility, balance, and speed in a larger-than-life virtual world where we are able to harness the nature that is brought out in video games — dedication, determination, and longevity — and turn it into real, physical workouts that challenge both mind and body,” Lewis said in a press release.
The team’s mission is to create innovative products that create lasting change in people’s lives. The Black Box gamified experience involves a competition against avatars and eventually other people in a virtual arena. The goal is to make the gym experience less boring, but for the business plan to be carried out successfully, people are going to have to want to invest in the technology and it will still need to be proven safe.
Black Box VR intends on opening up small, niche gyms across the U.S., which will allow members to join and enjoy the gamified workout. While at-home equipment could be in the works further down the line, for now, the problem will be offsetting the expenses of equipment, which combines technology costs and the costs of workout machinery.
“At Black Box VR, we are working to bring the revolutionary power of virtual reality to the fitness industry. After nearly two years of research and development, we are proud to unveil our product at CES,” DeLuca said.
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