User experience design for a smart-mirror-based personalized training system

This paper describes the user experience (UX) design for a smart-mirror-based personalized training system which aims to help people live a healthy life. A number of researchers and companies have developed fitness systems that use a virtual coach which shows the user with actions they should perform. However such systems can be difficult to accurately follow the virtual guide’s motions and there are also limitations in the feedback provided to inform users of their correct body posture. This is because most systems are designed for users to simply watch and follow a character’s motions (poses) from a third person perspective. In our smart mirror-based system, users are able to follow the exercise-postures of a virtual professional trainer shown in a first person viewpoint and receive coaching through a real-time motion correction. This is based on a predefined database of the trainer’s postures gained from motion-capture technology, and it is personalized to the user’s body 3D model acquired through an instant one-time scanning process. In this paper, we report on the UX design of our system, mainly focusing on understandable visualization, intuitive interaction, attractive information representation and easily acceptable user scenarios. Through a series of user studies, we analyze and discuss user friendliness, information comprehension, and user satisfaction as they relate to our design. In addition, we also assess the similarity and effectiveness of the proposed system compared to traditional personalized training (PT) at a gym. Based on the implications, we discuss future research directions for improving the user experience of the smart-mirror-based PT system.