The closed doors of gyms, fitness centres and a sedentary lifestyle have subdued the physical activities and has further added fat to the love handles of our body thus, nudging people to make a part of their dwelling a workout place.
Traditional gyms and dance fitness centres troubled with the ambiguities of reopening have sought refuge under YouTube or have launched apps containing videos of doable exercises for consumers but yet the workout videos seem to be a mundane one-way communication due to the absence of a trainer who is not available physically to guide whether the posture or form of the workout was appropriate. Consumers who are beginners seek guidance that is not fulfilled by most virtual fitness services. Purchasing fitness equipment is also expensive and consumes a lot of space.
Realising this gap, this Hyderabad-based health and wellness start-up Portl through its AI-powered smart mirrors and depth-sensing technology offers comprehensive fitness programmes, tracks body movements to provide real-time posture analysis and form correction feedback, telemedicine, and personalised health and wellness experience, thus replicating the presence of a trainer. Portl was launched in March 2021 by Indraneel Gupta and Vishal Chandapeta which is disrupting the fitness and wellness vertical by amalgamating fitness, technology, and media to offer holistic health wellness physically as well mentally.
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Portl was launched in March 2021 by Indraneel Gupta and Vishal Chandapeta which is disrupting the fitness and wellness vertical by amalgamating fitness, technology, and media to offer holistic health wellness physically as well mentally.
Here are the top products offered by Portl that are serving the wellness market differently:
Portl Mirror: Portl Mirror is a smart mirror with a multi-touch screen powered by AI of size 43’’ weighing 40 kg that delivers real-time fitness feedback and personalised fitness guidance across multiple workout formats. The smart mirror is additionally embedded with body tracking, biosensors HD Cameras, edge-AI Processing with Wifi, and Bluetooth connectivity to enable instant-form feedback and analysis of various workouts. The mirror can be mounted on a wall or floor-standing occupying minimum space.
Portl Lite: It is a mini version of Portl Mirror weighing 25kg and size 32’’ with a multi-touch screen display suitable for multi-user environments.
Portl Pro: Portl Pro is an AI-powered smart mirror specially designed for resistance workouts. It is equipped with an embedded digital weight mechanism workout thus eliminating the need for any equipment. Rest it has all the features of Portl Mirror and can deliver 100 kg of electronic resistance across both its cable arms enabling multiple resistance movements and strength training exercises.
Portl Bio-Tracker: It is an all-in-one health monitor that provides information on various health parameters such as multi-lead ECG, Blood Pressure, Blood Glucose, Body Temperature, Respiratory Rate, and Heart Rate tracking. Portl bio-tracker is beneficial for preventive healthcare and remote patient monitoring so that patients need to run to hospitals for frequent health check-ups.
What is in it for the AI-enabled wellness and fitness start-ups?
The acceptance of AI-enabled wellness and fitness start-ups is at a nascent stage in India but affordability can be a hurdle here since these tech-advanced products are expensive. Based on affordability factors such start-ups can face direct competition with health and wellness start-ups Cultfit that has recently acquired Tread, a Bengaluru-based fitness equipment start-up. By acquiring Tread Cultfit has forayed into the fitness hardware segment to offer an immersive workout experience to its users through its daily live classes with its 21.5 inches full HD, LCD rotatable touchscreen.
