Kaia is a workout app that uses your iPhone’s camera to track your reps

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Gone are the days of having to drag your lardy ass into spin class, forever wondering if everyone is staring at your extra inches. Now you can get the same soul-destroying workout from the relative comfort of home, thanks to Kaia Health’s new fitness app. Kaia Personal Trainer uses your iPhone’s camera plus some AI smarts to track your movements as you go through the personalized fitness plans.

The app uses 16-points of reference to track your exercises, count your reps and give you audio feedback in real time. That last point is important, as you need to be about seven feet away from your phone for it to be able to track you. I’m not quite sure how you’re meant to follow the video instructions from that distance, although at least you’ll be able to hear them.

Check out the Kaia Personal Trainer in action

According to Maximilian Strobel, Head of AI Lab at Kaia Health:

The app puts users in control of their exercise performance with a virtual personal trainer which accompanies their every step.

The best part? You don’t need any other equipment other than your iPhone/iPad (there is an Android version in the works too). Before this breakthrough, you needed specialized hardware such as Microsoft’s Kinect to track body movement. Now, all of the tracking is handled by optimized AI, making it accessible on smartphones.

That might give Kaia a leg up in the crowded Fitness as a Service marketplace, where giants like NordicTrack and Peloton are competing for your sweat. The ability to carry your workout trainer with you, instead of needing heavy equipment might sway some, especially those who travel regularly.

Kaia Personal Trainer can be found on the App Store. You can get a 7 day free trial in the US, and after that, the service is $29.99 for three months at a time. It appears to be free outside of the US, at least at this time.

What do you think? Is the Kaia Personal Trainer something you’re interested in? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.