Indian startup develops 'smart' wearables to boost fitness

An Indian start-up has developed a range of fitness wearables, such as 'smart' shoes and bands, integrated with a first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence (AI) health coach which provides users a personalised feedback, based on their real-time performance and training.
While a variety of fitness trackers and apps are available in the market, most generate data that users are not able to appropriately interpret.
"Till now, all activity trackers and wearables gave data. We are conspiring to change that by inferring this data and giving it meaning," Arnav Kishore, CEO and co-founder of Boltt, told PTI.
"With an ever-growing market for wearables and people taking fitness seriously in India, there is an increased focus on how we consume what is sold in the name of 'fitness,'" said Aayushi Kishore, co-founder of the company.

The wearables, including 'smart' bands, attachable strider sensors and connected shoes, give users "actionable" insights from the data gathered with an interactive app.
The app uses statistics and data captured from the connected devices to help make better training and running decisions.

The AI-enabled app offers personalised coaching in the form of voice or chat.
The Siri-like voice provides real-time coaching and in- ear dynamic audio feedback, based on the users' real-time performance and training.
The chat-based mechanism allows a user to view a detailed history and analysis of their activity regimen.
A 24x7 text coaching and user interaction also guides and supports the user in eating healthier, getting more active, and building healthy lifestyle habits.

Going beyond traditional tracking, the AI health coach records and analyses the data of the user.
This data is broken down into movements classified into various forms of activity, along with automatic detection of sleep and its various stages and patterns.
The data also includes a module for nutrition, which a user can log into the mobile application with millions of items to choose from.
Based on this data, the AI health coach provides a real time chat guidance, on the most relevant nutrition elements, depending on what time of the day the user logs in.
The "Central Intelligence" is built via complex integration of rules, algorithms and machine learning.

After two years of testing devices and collecting quality feedback from nutritionists, doctors and fitness enthusiasts across the world, the start-up today launched its smart wearables across India, US and the Europe through its website.
The products were showcased at the global consumer electronics and consumer technology tradeshow, CES, in Las Vegas, US in January.
The connected sneakers are embedded with sensors that track the biomechanical data, as one indulges in physical activities throughout the day. It is powered by the Boltt Audio AI coach.
The stride sensor is a small advance sensor that can make any ordinary shoe 'smart'. From analysing the user's motion and cadence to sensing individual stride and pace, it acts as users' kinematic running database available to them 24x7.

The fitness-tracker or the smart bands help make fitness a habit rather than a compulsion.
Paired with the Boltt application, the wearables become a user's personalised fitness guide that coaches them on sleep, nutrition, activities and running.
The Bolt app can be integrated with over 30 android and IOS apps.