Insane AI is looking to revolutionise home workouts by turning smartphones into intelligent workout companions with their AI-powered technology. We spoke to Anurag Mundhada, Co-Founder at Insane AI about their fresh perspective toward motivation, fitness and health.
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What was the inspiration behind Insane AI?
Insane AI began with the simple ideology of maintaining consistent and fun workouts while making them addictive. The idea came about with the advent of the lockdowns when we noticed a major downturn in our workout regularities as we exercised alone. Earlier, something that was a dopamine-filled group activity, turned into a monotonous errand.
That’s when we decided to shake things up, we leveraged our past experiences with sensors and self-driving cars toward building Pushup Dojo, the initial avatar of Insane AI. On attaining about 2000 users and numerous positive reviews, we saw the massive potential for moulding the future of fitness and decided to raise venture capital and build our team.
What audience is this tech targeted towards? How is it different from other fitness apps?
The app is geared towards helping those who are starting out on their fitness journey or are struggling to be consistent. Lots of people wish to be fit but do not know where to start - Insane is a one stop shop for not only the initial guidance needed to start, but also for something which keeps you hooked and motivated to level up your fitness. It’s a free smartphone app and there is no need to invest large amounts of money associated with modern fitness(trainers, gym memberships, classes and gadgets).
At first, just like many others, we were also reliant on common workout apps for our fitness. But we quickly realised that traditional apps are only concerned with constantly serving video content and users have to mindlessly follow along - there’s no interactivity, no motivational hooks, and you have to basically call upon your limited motivation every time you do a workout. More than 90% of users drop off after starting a fitness journey on these apps. To keep users engaged and motivated, a fun-filled gratifying experience where the app becomes a mentor, providing users with feedback and motivation on their fitness journeys is essential. And that's where we enter to provide a meaningful and stimulating workout session.
Our tech, fueled by artificial intelligence and infused with habit-forming gamification, tracks and analyses your form via the front camera of your phone. The captured motion is examined by the AI which helps you improve by providing relevant feedback through audiovisual cues. The app also stores your workout histories, allowing users to self-analyse their performance and progress.
With the lack of motivation being a large hurdle in fitness, how does Insane AI address this challenge?
Advancing the ideology of staying consistent with workouts and making motivation effortless, the app was designed with the aim to convert fitness into a game. We inculcated positive reinforcements and combined them with fast-paced reward cycles to help subliminally motivate users.
The completion of each activity, whether a perfect rep or consistency with workouts, generates rewards in the form of coins, which can later be redeemed for discount coupons, rare virtual items, merchandise etc. Also, by setting daily and weekly goals, the app urges users to keep the momentum going.
Could you elaborate on the tech involved? And the use of smartphone cameras for motion tracking?
Our app is powered by AI, augmented reality, motion capture and computed vision. Utilising the phone’s front camera, the AI enables accurate motion capture by tracking 21 key points of the body. It then conducts an instantaneous analysis of the motion to provide feedback for improving form and posture. The app also provides a score for the activity completed, based on the intensity level, with an accuracy of 98%
Prior to starting Insane AI, we extensively worked with camera-sensing tech for Sony, Apple, Mercedes etc to develop LiDAR sensors, AR in smartphones and cameras for autonomous vehicles. We were inspired by Nintendo and Microsoft but strived to replace their costly hardware with an AI-powered software solution with the same functionality.
How does the app work?
It’s a simple onboarding, where one enters their height, weight and age to generate a 3D avatar which serves as a virtual identity. Then your fitness journey begins with our intelligent workout companion. Start exercising while ensuring your body movements can be captured by the selfie camera so that the AI can track exercises and reward users accordingly. Insane AI’s interactive workouts and live feedback generate higher retention and consistency.
Working out is more fun with friends and family, and understanding this, we have kept social and community as a major focus. Now you can enter into turn-based fitness battles with your close ones and compare performances and workouts on the leaderboard. Our AI-powered workout companion engages users, keeps them on their toes and sets them up for continuous improvement.
- Innovations in habit formation sciences and sports conditioning are redefining the way people interact with their fitness and health. Deploying artificial intelligence and gamification, Insane AI is looking to transform everyone's smartphone into an intelligent workout companion.
- Anurag Mundhada, Co-Founder at Insane AI shares a few insights from their journey and the way forward:
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