Cycling for Watts

In early September, the city of Madrid took part in the European Week of Sport, an international event for the promotion of sports and physical activity. Many companies were involved in the festivities, among them the electric company Iberdrola. They commissioned agency MSL to equip their stand in Madrid with an interactive bike game that got participants moving.

Two bikes were installed on rollers next to each other and allowed two players to ride as fast as they could for 20 seconds. During this time, a sensor on the back wheel of each bike measured the motion of the wheel. This information was sent into a Ventuz machine, which translated the data into visuals displayed on a 55” screen. By cycling, participants could turn a virtual windmill and the watts they had generated by cycling were counted. The system included a high score and a virtual leaderboard.

The game was well perceived, especially by the many kids who visited the event and were eager to beat each other and the high score. Additional graphic elements taught them a few things about power consumption and renewable energy, one of the main focus points of Iberdrola.