By will-buy
Peloton has started shipping the voice-controlled Peloton Guide smart camera exercise system. The set-top device for weight training is Peloton's first to incorporate a voice assistant, a feature anticipated because the fitness tech giant acquired industrial voice tech startup Aiqudo a little over a year ago.
Peloton Guide
The Peloton Guide combines a set-top camera and heart rate band for $495, along with a $13 a month membership fee. Aside from the camera and heartbeat tracker, Peloton Guide users can bring their own weights and other equipment to any of the hundreds of virtual classes the Guide displays on their television. The camera's software uses machine learning to track user movements and calculate their progress when compared to instructor without extra sensors, similar to Facebook Portal or the defunct Microsoft Kinect video game system. The AI also suggests classes to take based on what muscles the consumer has exercised lately. Peloton refers back to the whole system as a “connected strength product.”
“Over the final couple of years, we've seen the interest within our strength content explode,” Peloton co-founder and chief product officer Tom Cortese, Peloton's said. “Peloton Guide demystifies weight training to produce a more engaging experience that will help Members stay motivated. We combined our world-class Instructors and class content with the best machine learning technology to create a whole new method to train. Case the beginning for Peloton strength. Guide will keep getting smarter so it can grow stronger alongside our Members.”
Peloton Voice
The Guide comes with a remote, but there's also an in-built voice assistant, which users can activate by saying, “OK, Peloton.” Users can issue commands to begin and prevent classes, travel through them, switch among different view modes and adjust settings like volume. Aiqudo's white-label voice assistant probably set the building blocks for that voice AI of the Peloton Guide. The variation was probably relatively straightforward because most of Aiqudo's developer team joined Peloton at the time.
Peloton's first interest in Aiqudo arrived 2023 when an Aiqudo engineer integrated the program into a Peloton rival's app to demonstrate how voice AI could boost the workout experience. Peloton reached out having seen a relevant video from it to go over how Aiqudo could boost Peloton's tech portfolio, resulting in the eventual outright purchase of Aiqudo.
