Motesque: Live longer and healthier with the perfect equipment

When customers visit Asics flagship stores looking for the right running shoe, they are fitted with sensors and - if they wish - sent onto the treadmill. The goal is to find the perfect model for their upcoming healthy running sessions with the help of a detailed Motion ID movement analysis. Artificial intelligence (AI) compares the anonymously collected data with that of well over 150,000 runners in the database. The result is an individually suitable recommendation for the optimal running shoe model. This extraordinary shopping experience delivers enthusiastic feedback: Nine out of ten customers state that they buy the perfect running shoe for them after the running analysis.

Motesque is providing this innovative technology. The startup from Cologne and New York fuses the best of the completely different worlds of biomechanics and AI & Big Data into custom-fit solutions. The interdisciplinary founding quartet is as diverse as the product portfolio. Prof. Dr. Kai Oberländer, a world-renowned professor of biomechanics, and biomechanist Prof. Dr. Gert-Peter-Brüggemann, former head of the Institute of Biomechanics and Orthopedics at the German Sport University Cologne, stand for motion expertise. Software developer Tobias Lang, an expert in computer vision, the three-dimensional representation of movements and the development of the innovative software solutions, is at the forefront of the AI and Big Data field. The top-class founding team also includes experienced designer and engineer Tobias Fink.

“Basically, everywhere in the sports and health industry where high-quality products are sold, there is a possibility to use this technology to find personalized solutions for each customer,“ says Dietmar Hagen Horn, Chief Sales Officer of Motesque, “in line with our mission to support and contribute to a healthier and longer life.” In addition to doing sports with the right equipment, sleep is particularly important. That’s why the company's new mattress app, that has been developed exclusively for a customer, fits perfectly into the portfolio. 

Through an easy-to-use smartphone app, anyone looking for a new mattress can enter a few details, such as height and weight, and upload two pictures of themselves. “The app then calculates a digital avatar of the individual person. After a virtually simulated night on each and every mattress, the user gets their personalized recommendation for the perfect product,” says Horn. Sounds pretty crazy, but thanks to the combination of motion analysis, AI and Big Data, it actually works very well. And it enables what otherwise would be completely impossible, especially in Corona times: testing and lying on many mattresses.

Be it wonderful sleep or healthy and pain-free running: The advantages of Motesque solutions speak for themselves, and further implementation areas, such as the selection of the perfect bike or individual home fitness equipment, are already in the pipeline. Ottobock has been a customer for some time. Together with the orthopedic specialist, Motesque has developed a solution that supports the choice of the most suitable orthosis and prosthesis. This brings back new mobility and thus a great deal of quality of life. The multiple Paralympics winner Heinrich Popow is enthusiastic: “The AI and biomechanics-based solution from Motesque, which makes it possible to adapt prostheses and orthotics exactly to the individual needs of each patient, offers special added value. This innovative technology opens up the possibility for Ottobock to offer their patients tailor-made products for a higher level of quality of life.”

To keep the development going, Motesque has its very own lab in Cologne. Well-known runners swear by the results of the motion analysis on their treadmill on site. “The good thing is that the more data sets we have, the better and more precise our technology becomes,” Horn explains. In addition to product advice, it is possible to recommend changes to the individual running style, for instance to prevent injuries. This all ties in with megatrends such as individualization and the greater focus on health in Corona times.

In line with this trend, Prof. Dr. Kai Oberländer and Dietmar Hagen Horn will be having a talk at ISPO Munich Online on the subject of “The future is now – how to live a long and healthy life.” The two experts want to reveal a few of the secrets for this by looking at the history of mankind. During the workshops three books with the corresponding title “Born to run – by Christopher McDougall” will be raffled. Add the talk to your calendar.