Hybrid display system for a force measurement assembly, an exercise device, or an interactive game

A hybrid display system for a force measurement assembly, an exercise device, or an interactive game, the hybrid display system comprising:

• a head-mounted visual display device having an output screen, the head-mounted visual display device configured to display one or more images on the output screen so that the one or more images are viewable by a system user;
• at least one camera or a substantially transparent lens for enabling the system user to see one or more images of a real-world environment outside of the head-mounted visual display device, the at least one camera configured to capture the one or more images of the real-world environment outside of the head-mounted visual display device, or the substantially transparent lens being provided on the head-mounted visual display device so that the system user is able to see the one or more images of the real-world environment outside of the head-mounted visual display device through the substantially transparent lens;
• and
• a data processing device operatively coupled to the head-mounted visual display device, the data processing device configured to generate a virtual reality environment and display the virtual reality environment on the output screen of the head-mounted visual display device, and the one or more images of the real-world environment being visible through the substantially transparent lens or the data processing device further configured to project at least a portion of the one or more images of the real-world environment captured by the at least one camera into the display of the virtual reality environment so that the system user is able to have a frame of reference in the real-world environment while he or she is immersed in the virtual reality environment;
• wherein the system user is:
• (i) disposed on an exercise device that relates to the virtual reality environment on the output screen of the head-mounted visual display device, (ii) disposed on a force measurement assembly, or (iii) playing an interactive game;
• wherein the one or more images of the real-world environment projected into the display of the virtual reality environment by the data processing device include one or more boundaries of an allowable interaction space in the real-world environment, or the one or more images of the real-world environment being visible through the substantially transparent lens include the one or more boundaries of the allowable interaction space in the real-world environment, so as to enable the system user to have a sense of his or her position relative to the one or more boundaries of the allowable interaction space in the real-world environment while being immersed in the virtual reality environment;
• and
• wherein, when the system user comes within a predetermined distance of at least one of the one or more boundaries of the allowable interaction space in the real-world environment, the real-world environment begins to appear in the virtual reality environment displayed on the head-mounted visual display device so that the system user does not collide with the at least one of the one or more boundaries of the allowable interaction space.