MOVAIA: Empowering Runners, Unleashing Speed and Reducing Injuries
Summary
Our interview with Thomas Butter, founder and CEO of Movaia, provides insight into how the Movaia platform increases performance and reduces injuries for runners. Thomas' inspiration for Movaia arose from a personal experience that drove him to seek a solution. Having suffered plantar fasciitis due to poor running form, Thomas had the idea for Movaia after paying hundreds of dollars for a running form analysis. Thomas draws upon his extensive background in marketing and management: accumulating decades of expertise in these fields, he understands the significance of effective strategies, efficient operations, and targeted outreach to bring his vision to fruition.
Furthermore, Thomas' lifelong fascination with computer sciences plays a crucial role in his endeavor. Recognizing the immense potential of technology, he is harnessing its power to develop an innovative platform that democratizes running form analysis. By combining his understanding of marketing, management, and computer sciences, Thomas aims to create a user-friendly and affordable solution that caters to the needs of countless runners, allowing them to optimize their running technique and reduce the risk of injuries.
Interview
Hi Thomas, please tell me a little bit about yourself.
I am a runner and triathlete and the founder and CEO of Movaia. I am from Austria and have been living in Hong Kong since 2006, where I love spending time outdoors on the trails or in the ocean.
What is the story behind Movaia?
Like many runners I got injured while training for a race. I saw a physiotherapist for that injury and had a running form analysis done. The analysis was hugely helpful in getting me back running so I realized how helpful a running form analysis could be. I have had a lifelong interest in technology (fun fact: Back in the 90s I was a finalist in a national coding competition) and realized that it should be possible to automate running form analysis with computer vision and AI. Two thirds of runners have a running injury in any given year so I was convinced it would be important to make running form analysis more accessible for runners. Another Target Group are physiotherapists and coaches that want a more time efficient way to create running form analysis. That is why I set up Movaia (which stands for Movement, Analysis and AI) and started working on bringing this idea to reality. Next to my daughter that was born 3 months ago, Movaia is now my “other baby”!
What is the primary mission of Movaia and how does it align with the needs of runners?
Our goal is to make running form assessment (which is often expensive and difficult to get) more accessible, so runners can both become faster, more efficient runners and stay injury free to get the most out of running. Running form analysis is a tool that should be accessible to any runner and is currently underutilized. An analogy could be power meters in cycling or heart rate monitors – tools that were once exclusive to elite athletes but have since become mainstream tools to make athletes better.
What specific products or services does Movaia offer to benefit runners? How does Movaia's products or services help runners improve their performance or achieve their running goals?
Runners upload their videos to Movaia.com. Our algorithm then analyses these videos and creates a report that visualizes runners form and provides recommendations based on analysis results. Our analysis is based on input from physiotherapists we work with as advisors and only costs a fraction of what an in-person analysis would cost. This lowers the entry barrier for analysis but also makes it feasible to have an analysis done regularly and track progress.
Does Movaia offer any training or coaching programs for runners? If so, how do they benefit runners? How does Movaia help runners stay motivated and engaged in their running journey?
Movaia is currently in beta test and every report includes detailed analysis, videos with exercises and a training plan. Like many aspects this is an area we want to expand further in the future. Most runners are hugely surprised when they see their running form visualized, which creates a strong incentive to try and improve. Our analysis results are quantified and our reports come with a built-in progress tracker so athletes can stay on track and stay motivated.
How does Movaia collect and analyse data to improve the running experience for its customers? How do you generate your recommendation for the form run analysis?
We use computer vision and pose estimation as the foundational technologies that let us understand the parameters of individual runners. We then combine this “raw data” with essentially a large “decision tree” a coach or physiotherapist would go through when doing a real-life analysis. This is where our cooperation with elite coaches and physiotherapists is hugely important. While we do not provide medical advice, we provide running science as it relates to a runners form and exercises that a coach would prescribe based on the running form observations.
What partnerships or collaborations has or plans Movaia established with other companies or organizations to bring your benefit to runners?
We love being part of the vibrant running community and plan to be a good partner with visibility at races, running clubs as well as partner with coaches, physios and other companies in the sports ecosystem – like TRAILME. Stay tuned for those plans to come to fruition in stages.
How does Movaia differentiate itself from its competitors?
There are few competitors at this point, but we pride ourselves in providing accurate feedback that a runner can easily visualize and act on. For example, instead of telling a runner their foot lands in a certain way, we do show them a picture of the exact moment their foot hits the ground and the implications of that. This is hugely important as only about half of runners can correctly identify even a “foundational” running form element as foot strike (heel / mid-foot or forefoot strike) correctly.
And maybe most importantly we take accuracy and relevancy of what we measure very seriously. While it is very easy to build a product that is right 70% of the time, it takes significant know how to build a product that is consistently accurate.The feedback we have received so far both from runners but also professional users encourages us in continuing with that direction.
What are the plans for future development of Movaia’s products or services and where do you see your company in 4-5 years? What would help you now most to get there?
Our vision is to help runners run faster with minimum injury risk so they can enjoy their sport to the fullest. We will develop our product around this vision and the feedback we receive from the community. That is why we have launched the free beta which will be open until end of June. The best way to help us succeed in our vision is to sign up at www.movaia.com, let us know in our survey what you think of our analysis and tell your friends about it!
