‘Swipe on, swipe off’: New AI-powered app to train martial artists
Hong Kong-based startup JabJabX is developing an AI-powered digital Kung Fu master to help users pack more speed and power into their punches.
“Rather than pure observation, big data analysis can tell you your speed and strength as you learn Kung Fu, and provides more personalized advice,” co-founder Thomas Yu said, as quoted by the South China Morning Post.
In combination with a motion sensor, the JabJabX app monitors the speed, accuracy and power of your movements and then provides detailed tips for improving your fists of fury. It also stores the data samples so that you can chart your development as your training continues.
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Yu added that the lack of objective analysis in traditional martial arts can frustrate students’ progress as the only feedback comes from “listen[ing] to the master speak.” Instead, JabJabX will measure your power in Newtons.
“We chose Hong Kong to start our business as the city is rich in Kung Fu culture and we would like to revive Kung Fu by using AI technology,” Yu, a practitioner of various martial arts including karate, Wing Chun, Muay Thai, Jeet Kune Do, explained to the South China Morning Post.
JabJabX is currently in the “testing phase”having won the Big Data for Business (B4B) Challenge organized by Cyberport in Hong Kong and Innobator in Shanghai. The app has already attracted the interest of multiple investors reports the South China Morning Post.
According to the company’s Facebook page, kickboxers are already using the app as a secret weapon to kick their training into high gear, chop their workouts in half and belt the competition out of the ring.
