Sometimes you need a push to get into the habit of exercising. The brand-new fitness tracker called Moov, aims to get people moving with its unique blend of fitness tracking software and motivational coaching.
Most fitness wearables just count your steps, measure your heart rate and tell you how many calories you've burned. They simply throw data at you, which depending on how dedicated you are, may or not motivate you to exercise at all. Chances are, if you're a newbie to the whole exercising thing, a bunch of data isn't going to inspire you to run better, hold that yoga pose longer or swim a more powerful stroke.
Moov is meant to encourage you to exercise better by telling you how to improve your routine. Moov has all the same sensors and catalogues the same data as other fitness trackers, but it also coaches you throughout the process. If you want to be a better runner, Moov will analyze the way you move to tell you how to improve your form. Moov uses 3D mapping to understand how your body is moving and to pinpoint what you could be doing better. Then, your personalized coach will actually tell you how to fix your errors and ultimately, have a better workout.
"It is akin to a Leap Motion because it uses a combination of those sensors to map an object in 3D space," said co-founder Meng Li, a former Microsoft Research sensor expert who helped found the company alongside Nikola Hu and Tony Yuan, two other experts with backgrounds in technology.
The three met at Microsoft Research a decade ago when sensor technology was still in its infancy. They even worked together on sensors for the gaming industry.
"People at that time told me that the first tablet-sensor game was made by us," Hu said. "At that time, sensors were very raw and expensive. Tony gave me the latest hardware from last year, and the latest sensors are totally different. Day and night different."
Years later they decided to band up together and try to make a splash in the wearable market. Current fitness wearables are simply not useful to customers, the three say.
"We think all the wearable devices in the market were wrong," Hu said. "To us, it's not that useful, step counting," Li added. "It's just a number."
Hence the addition of a Siri-like coach, who can give you real-time advice on how to improve your workout. Your coach will inform you if your footfalls are wrong, if you're slowing down or you could potentially injure yourself in that particular position. Your coach will also motivate you to continue your workout even when you're tired and politely tell you that it's time to get out of bed and run.
"There's an energy in working with a coach," said Li. "When I cheat, she yells at me, but it's still fun. I don't have a lot of time to do that now, especially doing a startup, so I wanted a coach with me 24/7."
The makers of Moov are convinced that the coaching element is essential to achieving progress in any workout.
"The best sport I can do is snowboarding. Why? Because I had a coach from the beginning," said Hu. "So why not bring a coach to everybody?"
At the end of your workout, the Moov companion app for iOS - and soon Android - will tell you how well you've done and offer suggestions on how to improve.
Moov is currently raising money to build better versions of the fitness tracker and coach, but interested customers can preorder the device for $59.95 from the website right now. Moov should be available to ship this summer.
