Vital statistics
The stage is set for a summer 2022 launch of Zozofit, an accessible – and highly accurate – wearable 3D body-measuring system designed to track physical transformation from the comfort of home, the gym or wherever else one gets their wellness fix.
Poised to take off across the United States in the not-too-distant future, Zozofit’s technology can be traced back to the Zozosuit, a three-dimensional (3D) body measurement suit first introduced to the Japanese market in 2018 to help shoppers order custom-fit clothing from domestic e-commerce site Zozotown. Now in its second iteration, the stretchy, skin-tight garment has since evolved to help customers capture precise body measurements and shape in 3D, enabled by a dedicated smartphone application or app. These dimensions are intended to support weight loss, fitness tracking, sizing and more.
With the pairing of proprietary software algorithms and the suit’s roughly 20,000 dot-like fiducial markers – a significant improvement, in accuracy terms, on the original suit’s 400 – Zozofit technology allows customers to capture measurements down to 6.35 millimetres or a quarter of an inch. According to parent company Zozo, this latest version (ie, the Zozosuit 2), first released back in 2020, has an average error of around 3.7 millimetres when compared to a typical 3D laser scanner. The Zozomat, a 3D foot-measuring device similarly operated via an app, forms part of the same product portfolio.
Social credentials
Zozofit, as a fitness-forward concept specific to the American market, was inspired by organic patterns of behaviour that were detected among local Zozosuit users on social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, vice-president of strategy and business development at Zozo USA, Alisa Gould-Simon, tells WSA. Instead of only using the garment to map their measurements ahead of online shopping, as expected, some customers would wear the suit to track their weight loss and monitor other body transformation goals. They would then take this data and share it with friends using social media channels as a way of demonstrating their fitness progress.
The $98 Zozofit suit departs from past versions of the measuring mechanism by allowing users the in-app option of tracking changes in body measurements, proportions and shape over time, in addition to the built-in ability to share their results directly with coaches, communities and even social media. The app therefore not only facilitates the tracking of bodily changes, down to approximately 6 millimetres at a time, but also generates sharable, 3D graphic data to support visual comparison. The suit garment itself is manufactured in Asia, partly for reasons of proximity to Zozo’s Chiba headquarters.
Helpful exercise
Commenting on feedback received during Texan tech conference South by Southwest (SXSW) earlier this year, chief executive of Zozo Apparel USA, Utahiro Inui, remarked that peoples’ physical aspirations are more diverse today. He thus suggested that, as a result of the “high-precision” nature of Zozofit body scans, the technology meshes well with current industry demand for an increasingly personalised – and, hence, satisfactory – overall wellness experience. “We’re really excited and thrilled that people may not only find the tool helpful, but also empowering – and [something they can share] when they feel excited about their journey,” Ms Gould-Simon adds.
In this vein, the company is actively growing its pool of fitness, nutrition and wellness coaches, each of whom is expected to serve as an ambassador for Zozofit and advise on app features and user experience, more generally. “In our conversations with many coaches and trainers we kept hearing how helpful this tool would be for them and their clients,” the vice-president explains. Beyond at-home use by individual enthusiasts, it is hoped that the technology will be adopted by gyms, health centres and the like. Further, there is always the possibility of entering new international markets in the future, she adds, with all the localised opportunities this would bring.
Outside of the Zozofit product launch, the company’s medium-term plans include exploring licensing partnerships with various industries across its suite of technologies, which beyond Zozofit and Zozomat, also extend to skin tone-matching device Zozoglass.
Zozofit’s 20,000 fiducial markers enable users to track measurements down to 6.35 millimetres or a quarter of an inch. The portable, app-enabled technology is intended to support highly personalised health and wellness activities in the gym, at home or anywhere else.
All Credits: Zozo
