Naked Labs Inc, a California-based startup specializing on 3D scanning technology, has raised $14 million and has begun shipping its product to pre-order customers. The money was raised in Series A funding led by Peter Thiel’s San Francisco-based venture capital firm Founders Fund, reports MobiHealthNews.
“Founders Fund is known for investing in big ideas, and Naked Labs is no exception,” Cyan Banister, a Founders Fund partner who also made a personal investment in the company, said in a statement. “We are excited about what the team is doing, and this is just the beginning. Once you create a platform for body models, the number of valuable services for the end user is infinite. We truly believe this will change how people interface with the internet and their bodies.”
Read more What’s VO2 Max and Why is it Essential for Fitness Freaks?
The Naked 3D Fitness Tracker is a WiFi-enabled mirror that resembles a “magic mirror.” It has built-in infrared sensors and communicates with a turntable scale. The mirror gets activated when a user steps onto the scale, rotating the user 360 degrees to get a body scan. Using Intel RealSense 410 Series depth sensors and a laser pointer, the scanner scans the body to measure the user’s body fat percentage and weight. The depth sensors capture the surrounding depth through InfraRed cameras to provide accurate results. The scanner can be connected to the Naked app through WiFi or Bluetooth.
Users don’t have to be naked to be scanned, but the company advises for best results users wear underwear or compression shorts for men and underwear or spandex and bra for women. The users are instructed to stand on the scale with a straight back, extending their arms slightly parted from the sides. The entire process of creating the scan and carrying out an analysis only takes 15 seconds.
This device sends data to the companion app, available on iOS or Android devices, which shows the user how their body changes over time, for example, whether the user is gaining muscle or losing fat. The system could be used for losing weight, increasing muscle mass, and tracking a pregnancy. Each device can be synced to up to six accounts. Naked Labs stores the users’ data on encrypted cloud servers and users are able to personalize which information is synced with the cloud.
The company first announced the system in 2016, when the price point was set at just $499 and shipment was expected to start in March 2017. But now, the product is finally being shipped at a price point more than twice as high: $1,395.
Read more This Wearable Helps You Lose Weight by Analyzing Your Breath
“We have been looking forward to this day for a long time,” Naked Labs Cofounder and CEO Farhad Farahbakhshian said in a statement. “Today, people are searching for evidence-based methods to track health and fitness that aren’t solely focused on weight. We are excited to get Naked into people’s homes to give them better insight into exactly what’s going on in their body and help them work towards their goals.”
