Amazon uses your phone's camera to assess movement health

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Amazon's fitness service Halo is soon showing off the ability to use your smartphone's camera and some cloud-based AI to create a motion health scan. After a 5- to 10-minute session where you pose in different positions in front of the camera, Amazon servers analyze the video and use it to create a customized workout to improve balance, movement, and posture. The service is expected to be launched in the coming weeks.

As with Halo's body fat check, Amazon says the video you record is sent to its cloud servers. The video is analyzed by its algorithms, not humans, and then deleted from the cloud and your phone. Videos are encrypted in transit and when in the Amazon cloud. The Halo fitness bracelet is not used in any particular way during the examination.

After the scan, you'll get a reading that breaks down your body movement in percentage terms. Amazon said its machine learning algorithms were built using a variety of bodies. However, the result of this training is an algorithm that applies the same ratings to all users. And that regardless of body type or level of movement.

Amazon evaluates movement health

Amazon explains that the new tool offers similar accuracy to a personal assessment with a professional coach. Amazon uses these percentages to create a customized program of corrective exercise videos designed to improve your mobility.

The company says that Halo offers each user about 10 videos, ranging from simple exercises to complete exercises tailored to their needs.

Halo launched last August as a combination of a $99.99 fitness bracelet and a $3.99 monthly health subscription service. And Halo provides a body fat check that is very similar to a healthy movement check. And the Halo bracelet can do all the typical health tracking things you'd expect from a fitness tracker.

The validity of the movement does not seem as intrusive as these assessments. But it remains unknown if the feature is useful enough to attract users to Halo. Apple Fitness Plus recently started offering videos designed specifically for beginners as well as tailored workouts for both pregnant users and seniors.

Amazon's new offer may be part of a larger trend to provide the content of fitness more accessible to people who are not looking to exercise sports daily.