As a result of the pandemic, many fitness tech startups are capitalizing on people being home more and avoiding going to the gym. As people were temporarily unable to seek wellness experiences from physical businesses like spas and studios, digital products and services are finding new audiences. This may lead to more people finding that these are viable wellness options and sticking with them over the longer term. It also can facilitate a fitness experience that’s characterized by wearables, interactive services, personalization and on-demand availability.
These efforts include AI-based wellness applications that are designed to allow consumers to track their fitness over time, providing feedback and guidance and enabling personalized exercise plans. One emerging trend is fusing biosensors with AI. To do so, some startups are creating sensors and monitoring devices, as well as machine learning algorithms that they can use to interpret the data. Then there are those companies that do one or the other, such as those that are only developing the software and which are then integrating it with devices from third-party providers. This allows them to design personalized exercise programs while simultaneously providing monitoring and feedback.
Tokyo-based FiNC, for example, uses an AI-driven chatbot to provide personalized recommendations to help users achieve their exercise, sleep and nutrition goals. AI is increasingly being used to design exercise programs to promote weight loss, control blood pressure, boost cardio fitness, increase muscle mass and improve core strength and flexibility. The goal is to individualize based on genetics, clinical data, activity data, preferences, motivation, lifestyle, work schedule, child care, past history with programs, and more.
To see this in action, we can look at companies like AthGene, which provides genetic analysis for fitness buffs so that they can better optimize their workouts and diet. Companies are also experimenting with other types of equipment and training formats. Tonal, an at-home connected fitness device equipped with an AI-enabled personal trainer, uses electromagnetic resistance to adjust the difficulty of exercises in real-time. It adjusts the resistance to power upper and lower-body weight lifting programs. Tonal’s device also offers personalized coaching and uses AI to adapt weights to each user.
Another company, Tempo, has a connected device that streams fitness classes and uses AI-enabled computer vision to offer real-time form and technique corrections. The company Vi offers a set of headphones and an app that comes with an AI trainer to motivate and coach runners of varying experience levels. Its biosensing headphones give users live feedback during cardio workouts, like step rate coaching and heart rate training. Individuals can also compete against other runners in real-time.
There are also companies producing connected apparel and athleisure gear that collects data, and they’re increasingly adding AI layers to make sense of that data and provide actionable feedback. For example, Athos Works produces sensor-laden performance apparel and an accompanying fitness tracker app that helps users to monitor their fitness progress.
As consumers are increasingly interested in on-demand, personalized and mobile exercise programs, more solutions featuring at-home health monitoring with AI-enabled guidance are entering the market. As evidence is created that the AI-powered personalization of exercise recommendations results in improved metabolism, better fitness, fewer injuries and more engaging programs, the use of such solutions will become more and more commonplace.
