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Launch HN: Zen (YC S21) – Posture-correcting software via webcam

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Re: Launch HN: Zen (YC S21) – Posture-correcting software via webcam

#21

Post by nickphx »

handheldmouse wrote: post #18
nickphx wrote: post #4

If the software and vision model are local what is the value given for the recurring fee? How is this better than a posture correcting garment or brace?

To answer your first question, we constantly improve the computer and mathematical models to improve the accuracy of the 'posture session'. We also offer in-depth analytics about your posture tendencies and also provide and constantly update libraries of exercises and (ergonomic) educational videos. Moreover, we constantly develop new features that users ask for, that are meant to tackle other parts of your wellness…

Makes sense. Thanks for taking the time to respond, I appreciate it.

Re: Launch HN: Zen (YC S21) – Posture-correcting software via webcam

#22

Post by diimdeep »

For anyone wondering it is Electron app, that packs some heavy web app assets(300mb + 150mb runtime), but still loads rest of web app from https://client.getposturehealth.co, and then it uses google pretrained posenet tensorflowjs model[0][1]. (loads it from https://storage.googleapis.com/tfjs-models/savedmodel/posene...).

In perfect world one would made it offline, release it at fixed price and be done with it, in our imperfect world it is turned in infinite cash-cow that requires connectivity and bazillion metrics.

[0] https://medium.com/tensorflow/real-time-human-pose-estimatio...

[1] https://github.com/tensorflow/tfjs-models/blob/master/posene...

Re: Launch HN: Zen (YC S21) – Posture-correcting software via webcam

#23

Post by handheldmouse »

OJFord wrote: post #19

For some reason I jumped to expecting this to morph the display in the direction of slouch, (such as tilting and shrinking into the lower-left corner a bit say) encouraging you to move opposite (sit up/lean right) to 'get a better view' as though the monitor were a window into a 3D world. Probably hard to implement, but have you considered anything like that? I imagine it'd be quite a nice subtle hint, that you'd sub…

That's a really cool idea and I'm curious to see if it can be implemented. However, a lot of people use Zen while working, so I can imagine the tilt can become quite annoying, especially if you're in deep work.

Re: Launch HN: Zen (YC S21) – Posture-correcting software via webcam

#24

Post by handheldmouse »

diimdeep wrote: post #22

For anyone wondering it is Electron app, that packs some heavy web app assets(300mb + 150mb runtime), but still loads rest of web app from https://client.getposturehealth.co , and then it uses google pretrained posenet tensorflowjs model[0][1]. (loads it from https://storage.googleapis.com/tfjs-models/savedmodel/posene... ). In perfect world one would made it offline, release it at fixed price and be done with it, in…

So far we haven't had people report issues or complain about the app or its performance. We also test the app on laptops ranging from really low range and old laptops to the latest MacBook or Windows laptops and so far we haven't encountered any issues ourselves. Electron has been really useful since it allows us to build apps for different operating systems, hence we can support more users who are looking for a solution like ours.

While we do use the 'posenet' library, this is around 25% of what goes on in the app during a 'posture session' - we need to actually label the multitude of positions that users can be in and we also need to calculate the degree to which users are in those positions. Moreover, we also offer walk breaks, exercise breaks and (ergonomic) educational videos that are really popular among our users.

Thank you for your comment!

Re: Launch HN: Zen (YC S21) – Posture-correcting software via webcam

#26

Post by Grustaf »

emptysongglass wrote: post #20
handheldmouse wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We don't support Linux yet, but we are working on this!

Glad I scrolled down on the comments feed. The landing page makes no mention of OS supported so I just assumed Linux was a go. Maybe you guys could make that clear.

> ...so I just assumed Linux was a go.

;)

Re: Launch HN: Zen (YC S21) – Posture-correcting software via webcam

#28

Post by Gasp0de »

handheldmouse wrote: post #8
lambic wrote: post #6

Looks like Windows only?

We support both Windows and Mac - when you press any of the 'Start my free trial' buttons, the app, for your specific operating system, should start downloading. Let me know if you experience any issues.

I'm on Linux and it downloaded the windows version :)

Re: Launch HN: Zen (YC S21) – Posture-correcting software via webcam

#29

Post by handheldmouse »

mvanveen wrote: post #17

Hi Alex and Daniel! This looks really cool and I believe I am in your set of target customers/potential early adopters. Personally, I'd much moreso prefer a self-hosted option such as a desktop application with strong guarantees about limits on cloud upload over anything cloud-based for this use case, specifically around concerns about how the webcam data could be used/abused. I don't see any immediate FAQ page or so…

Zen is a desktop app so I'm happy to see that we satisfy your preference.

Those are great ideas. We'll be adjusting our website to make it more clear!

Re: Launch HN: Zen (YC S21) – Posture-correcting software via webcam

#30

Post by mvanveen »

handheldmouse wrote: post #29
mvanveen wrote: post #17

Hi Alex and Daniel! This looks really cool and I believe I am in your set of target customers/potential early adopters. Personally, I'd much moreso prefer a self-hosted option such as a desktop application with strong guarantees about limits on cloud upload over anything cloud-based for this use case, specifically around concerns about how the webcam data could be used/abused. I don't see any immediate FAQ page or so…

Zen is a desktop app so I'm happy to see that we satisfy your preference. Those are great ideas. We'll be adjusting our website to make it more clear!

Yeah, thanks for being receptive to my feedback! FWIW I would not personally install your desktop app without further understanding of these other areas.

However, if the adjustments you describe could sufficiently allay my concerns and make the proper guarantees then I would be interested in such a product potentially.

As it stands I feel without said information there's just too much risk and uncertainty both as a private individual and employee to use this app.

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