ExaWizards Jointly Develops AI Video Analysis-Based Pilates and Yoga Class Support System “Spinal Movement Analysis” with ZEN PLACE ～ The system has started to be introduced to more than 100 pilates and yoga studios operated by ZEN PLACE. AI “visualizes,” and analyzes pilates movements requiring accuracy. ～

　ExaWizards Inc., a company that develops AI-enabled services to solve social issues (Headquarters:Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & President: Ko Ishiyama; hereafter, “ExaWizards”) announces that it has jointly developed “Spinal Movement Analysis,” an AI video analysis-based pilates and yoga class support system with ZEN PLACE Inc., which operates yoga and pilates studios (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & President: Naruhiko Ozaki, hereafter, “ZEN PLACE”), and started to introduce the system to more than 100 pilates and yoga sutdios across Japan.

☑︎ Improve the quality of body movements to maximize workout effect through “Spinal Movement Analysis,” a pilates and yoga class support system based on AI video analysis for spinal movements during a workout
With this service, we visualize the “roll-down” movement, one of the basic pilates movements using ExaWizards’ AI video analysis technology to calculate scores for five elements as analysis results. In a pilates/yoga workout, the key to maximize the effect is to use the inner muscles around the spine including the core muscles, especially in a pilates exercise, unlike other workouts, the quality/accuracy of each movement is more important than the repeating number of the same movement, therefore making an efficient and correct movement is likely to produce good effects.

This pilates and yoga class support system will help you learn pilates movements and enjoy the maximized effect by visualizing and quantifying your movements. With the technology ExaWizards offers to this service, the forward bending poses are stratified, and the spinal flexion levels when making forward-bending poses are computerized, and then the information necessary for the skeletal analysis of the user is obtained. On top of that, ExaWizards developed an API using its own technology to measure spinal flexion for this pilates and yoga class support system.

☑︎About the five-item analysis based on the AI video analysis technology of “Spinal Movement Analysis”
“Spine Movement Analysis” evaluates and visualizes “spine fluidity” by acquiring the position coordinates of the “abdominal area” and analyzing the position information using a newly developed AI motion analysis model to evaluate the fluidity of the spine by incorporating it into the “positional relationship of skeletal coordinates. This time, we have realized the analysis and evaluation regarding roll-down and roll-up. First, the actual values of ideal roll-down are derived from the evaluation values and actual values of each indicator of “neck angle” and “spine flexion rate.The five items of AI video analysis consist of cervical flexion-1), thoracic flexion-2), lumbar flexion-3), proxy motion by legs for spinal flexion-4), and motion speed control-5), and the spinal mobility is rated by item.

Besides, as the second version of spinal movement analysis, “Pelvic Curl Analysis” is scheduled to be launched in Spring, 2023.

*In the three items of “cervical/thoracic/lumber flexions, the flexion is rated to determine the degree to which it is proximate to that of an ideal motion.
*In the “proxy motion by legs for spinal flexion,” the flexion is rated to determine whether or not there is proxy movement by legs for spinal flexion when rolling down/up.
*In the “motion speed control,” the rolling down/up motion is rated to determine if it is controlled at a constant speed, or proximate to an ideal motion.

☑︎About the strengths of AI video analysis offered by ExaWizards
Many of the commercialized video analysis technologies have been based on general knowledge-level training data such as person identification, object detection, and attribute analysis (age/gender), and there have been not many analyses in which a certain level of special knowledge is required for recognition such as deciding if the workout move is good or bad. ExaWizards is good at developing highly distinctive AI models by combining AI algorithms and special knowledge. The AI video analysis that ExaWizards provides to ZEN PLACE designs such a feature value as enables the AI to recreate a qualitative viewpoint of a human trainer (domain knowledge), which makes possible “quantitative workout scoring by AI” against the ideal state.

This video analysis technology ExaWizards owns is expected to be utilized not only in the sports and fitness industry but also in medical/nursing care/healthcare fields. Under such circumstances, ExaWizards found a way to develop/offer its own yoga and pilates class support system by offering the “Spinal Movement Assessment” function as an API using ExaWizards’ technical assets, and combining it with ZEN PLACE’s own data.

☑︎Messages from Both Companies
Koji Hazama: Executive Officer, Care & Med Tech Division, ExaWizards Inc.
ExaWizards develops and provides AI services under the slogan, “Achieving a happy society through solving social issues using AI. In particular, in the healthcare domain, ExaWizards aims to “create a world where people can live their lives in their own way through the realization of healthcare that has value for everyone. Our business mission is “to support better decision-making and action by building processes and mechanisms that leverage data and AI. In implementing our AI video analytics into society, we aimed to “create something better for users” by leveraging the knowledge and experience of ZEN PLACE’s educators who have accumulated over many years and our own video analytics technology assets. We have developed a product that uses AI to visualize and evaluate the movement of each and every bone in the spine, which is important in Pilates and yoga. This enables users to know the movements correctly and efficiently when performing Pilates and has created a system that contributes to the practice of higher-quality Pilates and maximization of its effectiveness. In the future, we intend to promote further AI function development, AI digital health product development, and support for integrated utilization and management of healthcare data by utilizing our proprietary AI assets and AI platform exaBase, including this technology.

Nobuyuki Tan, Manager, System Development Team, ZEN PLACE, Inc.
Under the slogan: “Realize the global best well-being in Japan,” ZEN PLACE boasting its number-one position*1 in the number of pilates studios operational in Japan is a well-being creation company that seamlessly promotes tech-driven business deployment based on the latest research results and scientific evidence mainly in the pilates and yoga studio industry (*1: according to a survey by ZEN PLACE). We offer pilates and yoga classes not only for the purpose of producing by-products such as fitness improvement and bodybuilding but also as one of the means to lead a life with a sense of well-being. We aggressively promote the introduction of state-of-the-art technologies and digital transformation (DX) and conduct various initiatives such as face recognition and sensors in addition to the movement analysis we launched this time. While accelerating DX, we believe that easily and accurately visualizing pilates and yoga movements through AI analysis enables us to provide quality and accuracy-focused pilates and yoga lessons, which maximizes workout benefits faster than ever before. Furthermore, we signed a joint development agreement with ExaWizards, which is unrivaled in knowledge about movement analysis, and which deeply understands pilates. We made it possible to visualize pilates movements through AI analysis for the first time in the industry.

[ExaWizards Corporate Profile]
Company name: ExaWizards Inc.
Location: 21F, Shiodome Sumitomo Bldg.,Higashi Shimbashi 1-9-2, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Founded in: February, 2016
Representative: Ko Ishiyama, Representative Director & President
Description of business: Industrial innovation and resolution of social issues through development of AI-enabled services
Corporate site: https://exawizards.com/

[ZEN PLACE Corporate Profile]
Trade name: ZEN PLACE Inc.
Location: 3-12-36 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Founded in: December 24, 2003
Representative: Naruhiko Ozaki
Description of business: Operation of pilates and yoga studios/Implementation of pilates instructor training courses/Implementation of yoga instructor training courses/Provision of visiting care services and rehabilitation day-care services/Implementation of seminars for healthcare professionals/Healthcare programs/Digital content streaming services and app development/Product development and EC store operation
Corporate site: https://corporate.zenplace.co.jp/