Once again wandering the startup stalls, I find something genuinely compelling. A swimming trainer app produced by Beta Startup ZEN8.

This is something I’ve not seen before. They even have a prototype for new hardware they’ve designed!

You can use these to move your avatar around a virtual environment and the app will give feedback on your swimming technique.

Talking to ZEN8’s founder, Victor Jarland Strid, I mentioned I was surprised the app didn’t support VR. He talked about VR as a possible future direction for the app, once VR had wider-spread adoption.

I can see a few potential hurdles that could get in the way of this app meaningfully simulating the experience of swimming.

The resistance curve of a band, as it stretches, is very different to the resistance of an arm moving through water. Because the app’s input is pressure exerted on the hand-grip rather than the extension of the resistance band, that could also interfere with the app correctly determining where your arm actually is.

Tentatively though, this seems like a neat concept. In a space where most games startups are camouflaged metaverse projects, people making a game that aims to benefit its user is refreshing. Tags: Websummit