健康和健身应用程序使用AI以获得竞争优势

杰克·M·杰曼（Jack M.Germain）

2020年8月20日，太平洋时间上午4:00

这些天的面对面锻炼似乎已成为过去，而在家中进行的单独锻炼取代了去健身房的锻炼，这是受到大流行的影响。

在健身应用程序中，人工智能的使用尚不常见，但它是流行的印度应用程序的主要组成部分，该应用程序现在专注于美国和加拿大的不断增长的用户。在家中将AI应用于个人锻炼程序可能会为缺乏健身的运动爱好者提供一些新的东西。

如今，健身应用程序在应用商店的仓库中已变得像游戏和虚假广告拦截器一样多产。该Cure.fit个人主页锻炼的应用程序在用户的体能训练中使用AI会带来更多的效益。

Cure.fit总部位于印度班加罗尔，处于该国高科技产业的中心，已筹集了4亿美元的资金。开发者的应用程序已成为印度领先的健身计划之一，拥有30万订户。自6月以来，这种受欢迎程度正在全球范围内扩展，在美国的下载量已超过12,000次。

Cure.fit可能比其他健身应用程序领先了几步，试图为家里的单调乏味的锻炼方式带来新的变化。该公司严重依赖大数据和AI来推动用户体验和增长。

该应用程序使用户无需离开家即可进行小组锻炼。许多健身应用程序采用不同的方法来指导用户进行培训。因此，判断一个健身应用优于其他应用可能是营销夸张的事情。

Cure.fit国际业务主管Shamik Sharma表示，人工智能只是驱动Cure.fit的一部分。虽然全球有许多健身应用程序可供使用，但Cure.fit之所以与众不同，是因为它专注于与身心有关的一切。

他告诉TechNewsWorld：“该应用程序可提供全面的健康服务，包括身体健康和锻炼，健康食品和心理健康。” 在印度以外的地区，应用程序用户无法访问Cure.fit向印度用户提供的那些辅助部分，至少现在还没有。

趋势之前

SaltStack 首席技术官兼联合创始人Thomas Hatch表示，人工智能通常用于大规模，大数据场景。这意味着，从AI的结果或输出在消费者应用经常使用，但是AI通常不在消费应用上运行。

他告诉TechNewsWorld：“人工智能在健身应用程序中并不常见，但我们开始看到它越来越频繁地用于管理和跟踪健身数据和相关趋势的跟踪。这种使用正在兴起并变得越来越普遍。”

如果做得正确，人工智能在消费者应用程序中可能会非常可行。但是需要以这种方式使用AI，以便为这些应用程序的用户提供真正的见解。

“目前，消费者应用程序中AI的一些最佳示例是诸如Spotify的功能，该功能可以根据听众的行为来确定要播放或建议播放的歌曲。以类似的方式，AI可以用于健身应用程序中以建议食物或帮助管理饮食习惯并为用户带来最佳锻炼效果。”

促进身体健康

Muresh Bansal是Cure.fit的联合创始人兼首席执行官，也是联合创始人Ankit Nagori的创始人，于2016年推出了Cure.fit。这两位都是健身爱好者，他们都认为需要在这个领域中全面发展。

他们进入了拥挤的应用领域，进行健身，食谱和冥想。但是注意到没有一个将所有这三个元素整合在一起。他们开发了Cure.fit来填补这一空白。联合创始人最近推出了免费增值模式，以补充免费的应用程序版本。

Cure.fit应用程序可在全球范围内使用。但是，夏尔马表示，该公司目前专注于将其本地化为美国和加拿大市场。

他将应用程序背后的公司描述为一站式服务，可满足每个人的自我保健需求。作为在美国新推出的应用程序，它们起步缓慢，但计划以与印度相同的水平扩展。

在印度，Cure.fit为医疗保健提供了一个额外的垂直平台，那里有精英医生可以进行远程咨询。夏尔马指出，印度没有竞争对手这样做。

他说：“在印度，除了我们在应用程序上提供的所有功能外，我们还有健身房，可做健康饭菜的厨房以及可提供饭菜和食品杂货的送餐服务。”

健身应用程序的可行性

一个研究发表在医学互联网研究的说健身应用绝对不提倡积极的行为变化。研究人员对三组中的726名参与者进行了调查-当前应用程序用户，非应用程序用户和以前的应用程序用户。结果显示，目前有近75％的锻炼应用程序用户报告了活跃度，而非用户和以前的用户则不到一半。

研究人员得出结论，与不使用任何应用程序的用户相比，锻炼应用程序的用户在闲暇时间更有可能锻炼身体。研究还发现，锻炼应用程序使用户更容易克服“锻炼障碍”。这是一种礼貌的说法，即非用户倾向于拖延，缺乏动力等。

该研究没有考虑编程到运动应用程序中的人工智能的影响。添加AI元素会使健康的锻炼程序更进一步-甚至更多。

今天，美国人中有80％拥有智能手机，而全国有21％的人拥有可穿戴的健身追踪器。根据行业报告，智能手机，笔记本电脑和平板电脑用户可以访问美国应用程序商店中超过92,000个健身应用程序。

在西北初级保健网站上发布的一份此类报告指出，接受调查的医生中有93％认为健身应用程序可以改善用户的整体健康状况。许多应用程序提供在线社区，虚拟挑战和推送通知，提醒用户保持参与。

当时是加拿大UBC奥肯那根健康与运动科学学院助理教授的玛丽·荣格（Mary Jung）在2016年进行的一项研究发现，移动应用程序提供了向公众和专业健康人群提供实时反馈和支持的机会。她的研究发现，健身应用程序个性化后效果更好。

测量结果

Cure.fit使用专有的AI技术驱动的“能量计”（如上图所示）来帮助用户查看他们在每次锻炼中所做努力的结果。它使整个班级的用户保持参与并保持积极性。

用户打开移动设备的相机后，他或她就可以跟踪每个人体关节。功能的组合近似于用户在锻炼中花费的能量。根据每次锻炼的表现，该应用程序会分配能量得分，该得分可与其他人竞争，从而在每次训练结束时获得班级排名。

Sharma指出，这已成为该应用程序最受欢迎的功能之一。用户喜欢在实时锻炼课程中保持活跃并能够与老师和其他同学比较他们的能量水平。

“他们还喜欢每周收到一份报告，以显示他们的进度。我们还有其他受欢迎的功能，包括在上课开始时得到通知以及易于遵循的健康食谱，其中显示了成分的图片以及视频和步骤，在印度，我们的舞蹈课，特别是宝莱坞舞蹈很受欢迎。”

此过程使用户感到他们实际上属于运动组。该应用程序使他们可以实时与他人竞争，并统计每周进度报告。Cure.fit的方法似乎有效地达到了健身应用研究中提到的个性化标记。

运作方式

Cure.fit随时为用户提供各种各样的实时课程。上课时间从35分钟到一小时不等。世界一流的培训师和运动员讲授的课程包括舞蹈，瑜伽，有氧运动，力量和普拉提。用户还可以邀请其朋友加入会话。

使用Cure.fit应用程序可以很容易地向锻炼报告。这基本上是一个四步过程。

首先，按应用顶部的“加入Cult.live”。接下来，在首选时间选择课程。第三，打开设备的摄像头以加入实时会话。最后，激活能量计，以便它可以扫描您的身体以查看您的能量水平。

该扫描部分对于培训过程至关重要。它可以让您知道您走得太慢还是太快以至于无法按时进行。在课程结束时，您将获得排名。

根据开发人员的说法，Cure.fit应用程序不会保存任何用户性能数据。因此，不必担心数据泄露或滥用任何个人信息。

该应用程序提供自己动手做的内容，例如锻炼视频和冥想会话，用户可以根据需要下载。

增长和应用选项

免费版本仍然可用，至少目前为止。免费增值模式提供了一些相同的免费内容，但它推动了公司称之为更好体验的付费访问，其中包括访问更多内容和更好的技术功能。

在线付费课程将是他们为Cult.fit健身中心支付的费用的20％。对于特定小时的内容，还将有一个免费试用期。家庭健身课程似乎是离线健身中心的业务连续性计划。

“目前，所有用户都可以免费使用Cure.fit应用程序。我们将在年底前转换为订阅模式。用户将继续能够免费使用名义上的某些屡获殊荣的功能每月的费用，可以访问更多内容，包括大师班和现场班。”

该应用程序为用户提供了多种锻炼选择。选项分为基于力量的锻炼或基于有氧运动的健身锻炼。

他解释说：“在舞蹈健身中，我们提供了流行的宝莱坞音乐和英语歌曲，给健身带来了乐趣。我们还提供了名人/有影响力的健身大师级教练的培训，这些教练在我们的应用程序中上课，”他解释说。

这个过程很简单。用户可以在iOS或Android上下载该应用，然后选择自己想做的事情。他们可以参加现场或点播锻炼或调解课程，或者制作健康食谱。

“我们发现现场直播课程在大流行期间特别流行，因为人们错过了去健身房和与他人在一起的机会。此功能使用户感觉自己处于现场直播课程，生病的风险为零。这是一次胜利。赢。”夏尔马说。

限制之下、超越限制

该应用程序的独特功能（例如电表和游戏化）均是内部构建的并且是专有的。夏尔马说，几乎所有垂直行业（如远程医疗，营养咨询，个人培训和小组培训）都存在的整个基础架构、功能和报告都是内部构建的。

他说：“我们已经从一些3P合作伙伴那里获得了帮助，但都根据自己的需要进行了定制。”

目前，该应用程序在美国应用程序上提供带有健身，冥想和食谱的实时课程。该公司正在与Apple Watch，Apple TV，Fitbit，Roku等进行集成。

夏尔马说：“我们打算在一年中推出更详细的健身服务，治疗服务和营养咨询。”

Health and Fitness App Exercises AI for Competitive Advantage

By Jack M. Germain Aug 20, 2020 4:00 AM PT

In-person workout sessions these days might seem like a thing of the past, while solitary workouts at home replace gym visits as an ongoing result of the pandemic.

The use of artificial intelligence is not yet a common feature in fitness apps, but it is a main component in a popular India-based app now focused on growing users in the U.S. and Canada. Bringing AI to personal workout routines at home could provide gym-starved exercise enthusiasts something new to sweat over.

Fitness apps today have become as prolific on app store warehouses as games and phony ad-blockers. The Cure.fit personal home workout app uses AI to bring more effectiveness to users' physical training.

Based in Bengaluru, India, in the center of the country's high-tech industry, Cure.fit has raised US$400 million in funding. The developer's app has become one of India's leading fitness programs, claiming 300,000 subscribers. That popularity is spreading globally with more than 12,000 U.S. downloads since June.

Cure.fit may well be a few steps ahead of other fitness apps trying to bring new twists to humdrum exercise routines at home. The company leans heavily on big data and AI to drive user experience and growth.

The app lets users have a group workout session without leaving their homes. Many fitness apps have varying approaches to coaching users through their training sessions. So it may be marketing hyperbole to judge the excellence of one fitness app over others.

Artificial intelligence is only part of what drives Cure.fit, according to Shamik Sharma, head of international business at Cure.fit. While a number of fitness apps are available worldwide, what makes Cure.fit unique is that it focuses on everything having to do with the mind and body.

"The app offers holistic health offerings across physical fitness and workouts, healthy food, and mental well-being," he told TechNewsWorld. In regions outside of India, app users do not have access to those ancillary parts of what Cure.fit offers users in India, at least not yet.

Ahead of the Curve

AI is generally used in large scale, big data scenarios, according to Thomas Hatch, CTO and co-founder at SaltStack. This means that the results or outputs from AI are often used in consumer applications, but AI is not typically run in consumer applications.

"AI is not that common in fitness apps today, but we are starting to see it used more frequently to manage and track tracking fitness data and related trends. The use is emerging and becoming increasingly common," he told TechNewsWorld.

If done properly, AI could be quite viable in consumer applications. But AI needs to be used in such ways to give real insights to users of these apps.

"Right now some of the best examples of AI in consumer apps are capabilities like Spotify's ability to determine what songs to play or suggest based on listeners' behaviors. In a similar fashion, AI could be used in fitness apps to suggest foods or help manage eating habits and generate optimal workouts for users," Hatch said.

Promoting Good Health

Mukesh Bansal, who co-founded and serves as the CEO of Cure.fit, and co-founder Ankit Nagori, launched Cure.fit in 2016. Both are fitness enthusiasts who saw a need for something all-encompassing in the space.

They entered the crowded app field for fitness, recipes, and meditation; but noticed that none integrate all three of those elements together. They developed Cure.fit to fill that gap. The co-founders recently launched a freemium model to supplement the free app version.

The Cure.fit app is available globally. However, the company is currently focused on localizing it for the U.S. and Canada markets, said Sharma.

He described the company behind the app as a one-stop-shop that meets the demands of everyone's self-care needs. As a newly launched app in the U.S., they are starting slow but plan to expand on a similar level as they offer in India.

In India, Cure.fit offers an additional vertical for healthcare where elite doctors are available for teleconsultations. No competitor in India does that, remarked Sharma.

"In India, we have gyms, kitchens that cook healthy meals, and a food delivery service that delivers meals and groceries -- in addition to everything we offer on the app," he said.

Viability of Fitness Apps

A study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research says fitness apps absolutely do promote positive behavioral changes. Researchers surveyed 726 participants in three groups -- current app users, non-app users, and former app users. The results showed that almost 75 percent of current exercise app users reported being more active, as opposed to less than half of non-users and former users.

Researchers concluded that exercise app users are more likely to exercise during their leisure time, as compared to those who do not use any apps. The research also found that exercise apps made it easier for users to overcome "barriers to exercise." That is a polite way of saying non-users tend to procrastinate, lack motivation, and such.

That study did not consider the impact of artificial intelligence programmed into the exercise apps. Adding the AI element takes healthy exercise routines one step further -- or maybe more.

Today 80 percent of Americans own smartphones, and 21 percent nationally have wearable fitness trackers. Smartphone, laptop, and tablet users have access to over 92,000 fitness apps available on U.S. app stores, according to industry reports.

One such report published on the Northwest Primary Care website, cites 93 percent of doctors surveyed believe that fitness apps can enhance users' overall health. Many apps provide online communities, virtual challenges, and push notifications that remind the user to stay engaged.

A 2016 study by Mary Jung, then an assistant professor in Canada's UBC Okanagan School of Health and Exercise Sciences, found that mobile apps provided an opportunity to provide real-time feedback and support to the public and specialized health populations. Her research found that fitness apps are more effective when they are personalized.

Measuring Results

Cure.fit uses a proprietary AI-powered 'Energy Meter' (pictured above) to help users see the results of the effort they put into each workout. It keeps users engaged and motivated throughout the entire class.

Once a user turns on the mobile device's camera, he or she can track every body joint. The combination of features approximates the amount of energy users spent in their workout. Based on each workout performance, the app assigns an energy score which enables competing with others to obtain a class ranking at the end of each session.

That has become one of the app's most popular features, noted Sharma. Users enjoy staying active in the live workout class and being able to compare their energy levels to the teacher and other classmates.

"They also enjoy getting a weekly report showing their progress. We have other well-liked features including getting notified when the class is going to begin and easy-to-follow healthy recipes that show pictures of the ingredients as well as video and step-by-step instructions. In India, our dance classes, especially Bollywood dancing, are very popular," he added.

This process makes users feel they actually belong to an exercise group. The app lets them compete with others in real-time and tallies weekly progress reports. Cure.fit's approach seems to effectively hit the personalization mark mentioned in fitness app studies.

How It Works

Cure.fit offers users a variety of live classes whenever they want to exercise. The classes range from 35 minutes to one hour. World-class trainers and athletes teach the classes that include dance, yoga, cardio, strength, and Pilates. Users also have the ability to invite their friends to join the session.

Reporting to an exercise class is simple using the Cure.fit app. It basically is a four-step process.

First, press the "Join Cult.live" at the top of the app. Next, select a class at a preferred time. Third, turn on your device's camera to join a live session. Last, activate the Energy Meter so it can scan your body to see your energy level.

This scanning part is essential to the training process. It lets you know if you are going too slowly or too rapidly to help you stay on track. At the end of the session, you will receive a ranking.

According to the developer, the Cure.fit app does not save any user performance data. So there should not be concerns about data breaches or misuse of any personal information.

The app provides do-it-yourself content such as workout videos and meditation sessions that users can download as desired.

Growth and App Options

The free version remains available, at least for now. The freemium model offers some of the same free content, but it pushes paid access for what the company calls a better experience that includes access to more content and better technology features.

The paid-online classes will be 20 per cent of what they pay for Cult.fit fitness centres. There will also be a free trial period for specific hours of content. Home fitness classes seem to be a business continuity plan for the offline fitness centers.

"Currently, the Cure.fit app is free to all users. We will be switching to a subscription model towards the end of the year. Users will continue to be able to access some of the award-winning features at no cost and for nominal monthly fee, have access to much more content including MasterClasses and Live classes," said Sharma.

The app offers users a variety of workouts from which to choose. The options are categorized under strength-based workouts or cardio-based dance fitness workouts.

"In dance fitness, we offer a mix of popular Bollywood and English songs that bring fun to fitness. We also give access to celebrity/ influencer fitness master trainers that we have on-boarded who take classes on our app," he explained.

The process is simple. The user downloads the app on iOS or Android and chooses what they would like to do. They can join live or on-demand workout or mediation classes or cook healthy recipes.

"We have found that live classes have been especially popular during the pandemic where people miss going to the gym and being around other people. This feature gives the user the feeling of being in a live class with zero risk of getting sick. It's a win-win," said Sharma.

Under the Hood and Beyond

The app's unique features such as the energy meter and gamification are all built in-house and are proprietary. Almost the entire infrastructure, features and reports, that are present for the various verticals like telemedicine, nutrition consulting, personal training, and small group training are all built in-house, according to Sharma.

"We have taken help from a few 3P partners but have customized it all to suit our needs," he said.

Currently, the app feeds live classes with fitness, meditation, and recipes on the U.S. app. The company is working on integrations with Apple Watch, Apple TV, Fitbit, Roku, etc.

"We intend to launch a more detailed fitness offering, therapy services, and nutrition consulting over the course of the year," Sharma said.