Icaros GmbH is a German manufacturer of sports and therapy equipment based in Martinsried near Munich. Founded in 2015, the company develops gamified exercise and rehabilitation equipment that is used together with virtual reality.
History The idea for Icaros originated in 2011 from a diploma project by the industrial designer Johannes Scholl at the Munich design agency HYVE. With his colleague Michael Schmidt he designed a fitness device that trained multiple muscle groups and used virtual reality to simulate flight. They built a prototype using an early Oculus Rift VR headset and presented it publicly in May 2015 at the re:publica conference in Berlin.
Scholl and Schmidt founded Icaros GmbH in 2015 as a spin-off of HYVE. Their device was shown at trade shows including Expo 2015 in Milan, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and the ISPO sports trade fair in Munich. The units were manufactured in Germany, with assembly in the Allgäu region. An initial series of 50 units was produced. Deliveries to customers, mainly fitness studios, entertainment centers and hotels, began in 2016.
In 2017, the company moved from Munich to Martinsried and employed about 15 people at the time. In the same year it took part in the German Accelerator program in Silicon Valley to enter the United States market. It subsequently adapted part of its equipment for use in therapy and rehabilitation.
Products The Icaros Health is a steel frame that moves lengthwise and crosswise. The user lies on it in a position similar to a plank, resting on the forearms and shins, and keeps balance through body tension. A VR headset shows a virtual environment that is steered by shifting the body weight, and a sensor unit on the handlebar transmits the movements to a computer or smartphone. The training engages the abdominal, shoulder, arm, and leg muscles as well as balance and coordination. The device can be used with different VR headsets such as the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive or the Samsung Gear VR. In addition to VR headsets, the Icaros models are compatible with mobile devices through an app.
The model intended for fitness studios was later marketed as Icaros Pro. Additional virtual environments, such as an underwater world, and a multiplayer mode were added. The Pro model was replaced by Icaros Health, a device for neuro- and orthopedic rehabilitation. Another later model is the Icaros Guardian, a hemispherical balance board with safety rails on which the user trains in a standing position.
Icaros systems are used in physical therapy and rehabilitation.
The effects of Icaros training have been studied at the German Sport University Cologne, including a 2019 experiment on muscular and cardiovascular parameters and a 2026 proof-of-concept study on the use of the Icaros Guardian with older adults.
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