PEOPLE
“This is the fi rst time people can see a photorealistic 3D model of themselves on their smartphones”
Caroline Pugh, co-founder, VirtualU
A 12
3D body scanner cre- ated by students at Virginia Tech University in Virginia, US, is going into a
handful of gyms across south west Virginia. The scanner will help gym users to track their changing body shape as their fi tness improves. Users step into the scanner, create
a profi le on the touch panel inside and get a 10 second scan. They can then download an app for their mobile or go online to view a photo-realistic model of their body. As they get fi tter, they can scan their body over time, gradu- ally building up a picture of how their stomach fl attens or muscles increase. The technology was originally devised as a tool for online shop- pers to see how clothes would fi t their body, but the company recently
The scanners will allow gym users to accurately assess how well their regimes are working
decided to switch their focus to health and fi tness. “We realised that we have the poten- tial to make a lot of impact in multiple markets,” said Caroline Pugh, who founded the business with Nick Graber. “The amount of data we col- lect on the human body allows us to calculate biometric measurements that some other technologies in the fi tness market can't – or at least not with the accuracy we can. We saw the immedi- ate impact we could make in fi tness.” The technology means that gym users would no longer have to go through extensive health assess-
Read Leisure Management online
leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital
ments to monitor their progress, said Pugh. “This is the fi rst time that people will be able to see a photo- realistic, 3D model of themselves on their smartphones.” For health and fi tness operators, the system would validate the gym's effectiveness, she added. “For exam- ple, personal trainers can use our technology to pinpoint down to the millimeter if someone has gained muscle in a certain area to show that the regimen is working.” Looking ahead, the aim is to get
more operators on board. “We're look- ing forward to working with larger gym chains and expanding regionally across the US,” said Pugh. “The goal is to have everyone in the US within driv- ing distance of our VFit scanners.”
Details:
www.virtualu.co ISSUE 2 2014 © cybertrek 2014
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