Take a Run Anywhere On the Planet With a Treadmill, Panasonic and Google

Displayed at CES 2011, a Nordic treadmill hooked up to a Panasonic monitor and Google Maps makes your travel dreams come true.

Padmini Harchandrai|Jan 13, 2011, 16:27:37 IST

Imagine running on the rocks of Kjeragbolten, Norway or the ruins of the Palatine in Rome or even outside your gym crush's house (kinda creepy). At CES 2011, Panasonic connected a Nordic treadmill to a monitor and the internet - the result was a run in semi-virtual reality. What's even more interesting is that even though you might be able to do this by sticking a tv and movie in front of your treadmill, the maps communicate with the treadmill to incline and decline at the appropriate spots on the hills you're running through. You haven't left your house, but you have enough visual and kinetic stimulation to feel like you have.

Get your run around the world without scrounging for dough

Check out this video that Mashable got of a demonstration of the hookup. I can't wait to place my order.

By Padmini Harchandrai

Paddy does not, we repeat, definitely does NOT belong in the category of Mac-head (yeh right!). She does get excited by her iPhone and her iMac and her iPod Nano and her Macbook and Bali's iPad and her future iHouse (patent pending). Ok, so maybe her head is a little bit forbidden fruit shaped. She likes shooting video (iPhone 4 camera zindabad!) and editing montages (Final Cut Pro zindabad!), whether the scene calls for it or no. In her spare time, she's either kicking it on stage with KB the keyboard or kicking butt at Taekwondo.