[AI Revolution](129) "AI Exercise Coaching, Joint Recognition and Movement Accuracy Assessment"... iPixel

Interview with Lee Sangsoo, CEO of iPixel
AI Exercise Coaching Solutions 'Exersite' & 'Care'
Workout Anytime, Anywhere with Just a Screen and Camera

"Artificial intelligence (AI) interprets exercise movements like a human. It identifies the location of each joint and, for example, if a user performs a ‘hip adduction’ (an exercise targeting the inner thigh), it recognizes that the user is doing a hip adduction exercise and assesses whether the movement is being performed correctly."

On the 29th of last month, Lee Sang-su, CEO of iPixel, who was met in a shared office meeting room in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, is introducing the company. Photo by Hwang Seo-yul chestnut@

Recently, Lee Sang-soo, CEO of iPixel, whom I met in a shared office meeting room in Gangnam, Seoul, explained his company's AI exercise coaching solution, ‘Exersite,’ in this way. To demonstrate, he opened the application (app), fixed his phone camera, and positioned his body within the guide lines shaped like a human figure on the screen. Solid lines resembling bones were drawn over his body. When he moved his arms side to side, two solid lines drawn based on dots marked on his elbows moved along with the motion.

iPixel has launched the general public ‘Exersite’ app, which is provided in LG Electronics’ Smart TV healthcare service. As long as there is a camera and screen, users can have their exercise evaluated anytime and anywhere. The upgraded service ‘Exersite Care’ for senior care and rehabilitation patients has been commercialized at Sejong Hospital and is undergoing research and development (R&D) with Gangnam Severance Hospital. Recently, iPixel secured investments from Shinhan Venture Investment and Mirae Asset Venture Investment, among others.

Interestingly, CEO Lee’s interest in AI behavior recognition services was sparked by gaming. When he moved to a game company in 2007, he witnessed the growth of the gaming industry and the contraction of game companies that failed to enter the app market after the introduction of smartphones. He said, "It is important to enter a growing market," adding, "When Pok?mon Go was released in 2016, I found the connection between smartphones and the surrounding environment fascinating." He continued, "After resigning in early 2017, I studied vision AI with the intention of properly exploring augmented reality (AR)."

Lee Sang-soo, CEO of iPixel, is demonstrating the company's AI exercise coaching solution, 'ExcelSite.' A solid line resembling a bone appeared over the CEO's body video.
Photo by Hwang Seo-yul chestnut@

In 2019, they developed a home training service using core vision AI technology through R&D, but it did not attract much attention for a while. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out the following year and non-face-to-face interactions became a trend, the service gained attention. At that time, they signed a contract with Shinhan Life Insurance and launched a service called ‘Howfit’ in 2021, which surpassed one million downloads and recorded about 300,000 monthly active users (MAU). It was also selected as a ‘Best App’ in the self-development category by Google.

CEO Lee highlighted the strength of the platform-type service. For example, if health trainers or medical staff upload their videos to the app, the system finds similar or identical movements from the metadata they possess and evaluates the user’s exercise. He said, "Exersite and Care have more than 2,300 AI metadata entries," adding, "When medical institutions, physical therapy centers, or fitness coaches upload their exercise videos to the iPixel platform, they are automatically analyzed and converted into videos with AI coaching features applied." He further explained, "Eventually, we could become a content provider in the ‘exercise AI domain,’ similar to YouTube."

CEO Lee plans to expand services using AI motion recognition technology. He is also designing a system to motivate patients in existing medical services. For example, it could inform patients where they rank among others of the same age group and with the same diagnosis who participate in exercise. He said, "Rehabilitation doesn’t have to be too serious," emphasizing, "The will and motivation to exercise because it is fun are important."