S.MÅT

Smart movement mat uses sensors to create a pressure map and pre-trainned AI gives real-time feedback on posture, helping to improve technique and maximize benefits.

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Inspiration

We have 4 main areas of inspiration; creating a self-sustaining health regimen, education on anatomical & psycho-physiological function (somatics), maintaining user data privacy, and circular economy products.

As an experienced wellness trainer, people's typical concern when starting a new health or yoga regimen is their lack of awareness and knowledge of how the human body-mind actually works in tandem with each other.

Somatics describes any practice that uses the mind-body connection to help you survey your internal self and listen to signals your body sends about areas of pain, discomfort, or imbalance. These practices allow you to access more information about the ways you hold on to your experiences in your body.

SMATi - Allows you to retrain your brain & body, through movement feedback & voice/audio-guided programs.

When practicing yoga or workout alone, some of the primary challenges include:

  • Maintaining proper form: It can be difficult to determine if you are performing a yoga pose correctly without a teacher or someone to provide feedback.
  • Safety: Practicing yoga or exercise alone can increase the risk of injury if you are not familiar with the correct form for each pose.
  • Limited pose modifications: Without the guidance of a teacher, it can be challenging to modify a pose to accommodate any physical limitations.
  • Sequence planning: Planning the sequence of yoga poses or workouts can be difficult without a teacher or a set plan to follow

Current product on the market uses cameras to track body positions. Cameras raise privacy concerns due to the following reasons:

  • Constant Surveillance: Smart yoga mat with cameras can continuously record and monitor the activities in the surrounding environment.
  • Hackability: Smart yoga mat with cameras can be vulnerable to hacking, allowing unauthorized access to the recorded footage.
  • Location Tracking: The cameras can be used to track the location of the user, and the data can be used for purposes such as targeted advertising.
  • Lack of Transparency: The user may not be aware of the extent to which their personal recorded footage is being collected, stored, and used.

What it does

Our smart mat (SMÅTI) is equipped with Force Sensitive Resistor sensors that create a pressure map of your body while practicing yoga or exercise. The pressure map is then analyzed by AI algorithms to determine if you are performing the posture correctly. The AI feedback helps improve your technique and ensures you get the maximum benefits from each pose. Added features would be an audio/voice guidance training app. With its advanced technology and real-time posture analysis, our smart mat (SMÅTI) is the perfect companion for anyone looking to have a dynamic movement education & practice.

Core Feature Training Modules:

  1. Alignment: The body should be aligned in a neutral and balanced position to allow for efficient movement.
  2. Breath: The breath should be used to support and stabilize the body during movement.
  3. Core stability: The core muscles, including the abdominal and back muscles, should be engaged to provide a stable foundation for movement.
  4. Balance: The body should maintain balance and control during movement to prevent falls or injuries.
  5. Coordination: The body's movements should be coordinated and smooth, with all joints and muscles working together efficiently.
  6. Mobility: The body should have a sufficient range of motion in all joints to allow for a full range of movement.
  7. Strength: The body should have sufficient strength and power to perform a variety of physical tasks.
  8. Flexibility: The body should have sufficient flexibility to move freely and without restriction.

How we built it

We built using Arduino nano and force-sensitive resistors. Arduino connects to an array of force-sensing resistor sensors on the yoga mat. When a person stands on the mat, Arduino measures the values of each sensor and transmits them to the computer via USB. The computer then applies a series of AI algorithms to the data, and using an AI training model, it informs the person if they are performing the correct pose.

We created a training modal with a pressure map of the correct pose and then we experimented few AI algorithms, to find similar patterns in arrays of data using various techniques, such as:

  • Distance Metrics: To calculate the distance between the data points and group the similar ones together.
  • Clustering: To calculate the similarity between the data points based on a distance metric and divides them into clusters.
  • Autoencoders: To identify patterns in numerical data.
  • Similarity Matrices: To construct a matrix with the similarity scores between each pair of data points to identify patterns.

GTM strategy

Develop a 3 month training program that educates the users on human anatomy, psycho-physiology, and natural movement patterns & brain training.

Once you are done with the 3 month training program you can return the mat (circular economy) If the user would like to extend the use of the mat they can for an additional fee.

Standard Personal trainers cost $500-1000 a month. Standard Movement training retreats or programs cost $2000-10,000

Our SMÅTi costs $599 for a 3-month training program & use of a mat- After $3 months $69 monthly subscription

option to return the mat once you are not using it for money back on the product.

Challenges we ran into

  • Biggest challenge was to teach Kay how do simple yoga poses such as Natarajasana!
  • MJ asked about every electronic component she saw on the table, like a 5 years old asks; "What is this?, what is this? and what is this?"

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • We could make Kay to do all simple yoga poses, but he can say Natarajasana correctly ;)
  • MJ has basic knowledge about electronic components and she, now, knows that resistors use a color-coding system to indicate their resistance value. -Developing a GTM strategy & identifying an untapped market demand (somatic training)

What we learned

This was MJ's first hackathon: learned both hardware and software product development.

What's next for S.MATi

Added user features, digital twin, gamification, ASMR, affirmation training, binaural beat music, create a platform for teachers to guide classes, AI can be trained to also read movement from varying modalities i.e dance, pilates, calisthenics.

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