Based in 2021, this start-up desires to take the burden off individuals’s shoulders with regards to train approach.
So far as entrepreneurs go, Emma Meehan has a somewhat distinctive background. In addition to being a software program engineer and a pc scientist, Meehan can be a professional private coach and a aggressive Olympic weightlifter.
It was on the fitness center the place Meehan first formulated her enterprise concept, when she observed her train approach was incorrect whereas trying within the mirror. Whereas she knew the right way to repair points as a consequence of her expertise of private coaching programmes, she realised that most individuals may not recognise when their approach is fallacious with out exterior steerage.
“They should both have their coach come to oversee them, ship movies to their coach, lose confidence of their train programme or worst-case state of affairs – truly injuring themselves,” she says. “I knew expertise would be capable of assist with this.”
From right here, Meehan started growing her start-up – and our newest Begin-up of the Week – Precision Sports activities Know-how, a platform that mixes her love for tech and health.
Precision Sports activities Know-how is a software program platform that utilises AI and 3D expertise in iOS gadgets to supply real-time suggestions and evaluation on train strategies. The Galway-based start-up hopes to cut back the danger of accidents, maximise outcomes and improve participation in energy and conditioning coaching and physiotherapy.
In addition to being the founder, Meehan additionally holds the positions of CEO and CTO, supported by CCO and lead sport scientist Seán McVeigh, and COO Padraig Dennison.
Tech for approach
“Everybody wants motion – motion well being is vital for the entire inhabitants,” says Meehan.
With Precision Sports activities Know-how’s flagship product, KinetikIQ, the start-up desires to help sports activities physiotherapists and energy and conditioning (S&C) coaches.
“At the moment sports activities physiotherapists and S&C coaches can spend hours making an attempt to manually assess motion high quality by eye, utilizing wearable sensors and even renting out cumbersome, costly and time-consuming motion-capture labs,” she explains. “We assist them to immediately, simply and precisely measure motion high quality, to allow them to use their sources both scaling up their providers or spending extra hands-on time with their athletes.”
Meehan started work on KinetikIQ in 2017, throughout her last 12 months of a level in laptop science and knowledge expertise at College of Galway. The software program makes use of a mix of machine studying, AI and LiDAR (mild detection and ranging) techniques to supply suggestions on train approach.
Whereas she acknowledges that there isn’t any scarcity of body-tracking instruments available on the market, she says that her start-up’s expertise is differentiated by various necessary components.
In addition to requiring no further {hardware} apart from an iPhone or iPad Professional, KinetikIQ makes use of a single-camera system that may both be used handheld or on a tripod. In accordance with Meehan, the tech has demonstrated greater than 95pc accuracy in comparison with laboratory-grade, motion-capture techniques.
Going for gold
By way of progress, Meehan says that 2024 has been a “huge” 12 months, because the start-up achieved various milestones akin to launching its product, making its first worldwide rent, securing its first worldwide buyer and shutting a pre-seed funding spherical.
The corporate additionally has various accolades underneath its belt, together with profitable Greatest New Sports activities Enterprise of the Yr on the Federation of Irish Sport Awards 2024 in addition to being chosen as certainly one of six firms for the Adidas Breaking Obstacles Program, which goals to enhance equality in sport for girls and ladies throughout Europe.
Most lately, the start-up was victorious on the KPMG International Tech Innovator Eire last. The beginning-up will now characterize Eire on the world competitors in Lisbon, which might be held in November, the place it’s going to compete with tech innovators from 23 different international locations.
And to shut off what has already been a major 12 months, the start-up can be formally launching a seed spherical in This fall to gasoline its enlargement into the US.
“We have already got shoppers over there,” says Meehan, “however it’ll require way more capital than we’ve got already raised to determine a staff there and maximise the chance.”
This enlargement is of excessive significance to the start-up, which has recognized the US skilled sports activities and collegiate sectors as its largest potential market. Nonetheless, the ambition doesn’t cease there, as Meehan describes the start-up’s future targets of increasing into digital healthcare and client health.
“Our final objective is to be the back-end of the web for cell movement evaluation,” she explains. “This may be utilized throughout an entire vary of industries – from sports activities we’re aiming to deal with the digital healthcare market, so as to permit physiotherapists to deal with sufferers remotely, with out even needing to be current on a name.
“Moreover the patron health market, permitting anybody to get real-time suggestions and evaluation on train to maximise their health targets whereas staying protected and harm free.”
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