Smart Fitness with AR/VR

Lockdown has prevented many fitness resolutions from being completed. Since there is a danger of getting exposed to the coronavirus, people are giving gym and fitness centers the least priority. And while many are exercising at home it still does not compete with their fitness regime followed at the gym. Among all this, technology has taken another leap in helping people keep up their fitness game. As we see that already a lot of industries are adapting to AR/VR technology to redefine the existing ways of interacting with customers, the fitness industry wasn’t left behind to transform the way of working out by making it more engaging, fun and experiential.

Industry Trends

According to a report by Goldman Sachs, the overall revenue from AR and VR will reach $35 billion by 2025, because of its adoption by industries like gaming, fashion, education, entertainment, healthcare, etc. A large number of brands in the fitness category are coming up with AR and VR enabled apps, accessories, games, and devices to change the trend of working out in the gyms. With features like virtual instructors who lead the class, people are preferring to stay at home and enjoy the workout.

According to a report shared by Businesswire, global smart wearable fitness and sports device markets will grow at a CAGR of 2.22% and 38.35% respectively during the period 2016-2020. Big brands like Addidas, Apple, Fitbit, Nike, Samsung, Sony, Garmin, etc are the key players in the market who have integrated AR and VR in their products to give the user a more wholesome fitness experience which is entertainment-oriented.

Role of AR

AR has gained popularity through a game called Pokemon Go which asked users to run around the streets and neighborhoods, finding and catching Pokemons.

In order to reach more people through AR fitness trainers and exercise, instructors will have to record themselves as holograms. There are games like Ingress, Zombies Run, Father.io, Jump Squat shooter, etc which provide the luxury of working out while sitting at home. This has not only made working out convenient but has also made it more entertaining and engaging. In fact, there are apps like Strava and other built-in features which track real-time heartbeat, the hours of activity, miles walked, etc.

Role of VR

VR gives immersive experience through headsets than AR which is known to giving digital imagery to users to experience the real world. It is known that VR gives limited exposure for training while AR adds more fun to fitness apart from motivating them. Thus, one can get on a treadmill put on their VR headsets and select the kind of environment to work out at, and he/she is ready to go. It gives an opportunity for users to exercise in exotic areas. There is also an option of virtual trainers who give real-time training when they are working out so that communication is not interrupted and is two ways. It is very hard to describe the VR experience until and unless experienced on your own. In fact, one can experience VR workout at their home through products like the HTC Vive and Samsung Gear VR.