Alo Moves Taps Oscar-winning Visual Effects Artists to Create Volumetric 3D Classes for Meta Quest 3
Alo Moves is putting a wholly immersive experience into play with a new set of mixed-reality, volumetric 3D classes.
The virtual fitness and wellness platform from Alo Yoga said ti will develop a mixed-reality app exclusively for Meta Quest 3 in partnership with Oscar-winning visual effects artists, Magnopus. The experience promises to be as close to what someone would find from a real-life class as possible — with a few additional perks thanks to the design and technology.
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“Alo Moves has always been motivated by a single goal: to inspire mindful movement and meditation,” said Natasha Trindall, general manager for Alo Moves. “Partnering with Magnopus and Meta allows us to leverage cutting-edge MR technology to create a truly immersive wellness experience. MR has the potential to break down geographical barriers and inspire a wider audience to prioritize their well-being through movement and mindfulness in a way that cultivates lasting practices.”
Launching in Beta in mid-June, Alo Moves will offer 30 MR classes ranging from yoga and pilates to meditation with plans to add fresh content weekly. With the new technology, including room mapping and object detection, the platform aims to make its content more lifelike than ever. Users can practice safely and comfortably in an “environmental portal” to feel as though they are in exciting locations including overlooking mountain vistas in Norway or onto ocean waters in Thailand.
Similar to the current 2D class library on Alo Moves, the new classes on Meta Quest 3 will feature the platform’s renowned instructors including Ashley Galvin, Annie Landa, Bianca Wise, Kirat Randhawa and Susy Markoe Schieffelin. Using volumetric 3D capturing technology, the instructors will be seen in two forms for a fully immersive effect: a photorealistic, fully dimensional model and a mini form. The mini-instructor can be moved around the space by the user at any time throughout the session for comfortable reference of poses or movements at any angle to amplify the training experience.
With a background in entertainment, Trindall told WWD that Magnopus was the perfect partner for this endeavor. Notably, the company specializes in creating experiences and technologies that unite the physical and digital worlds with previous projects including “The Lion King” movie, “Star Trek,” “Westworld,” “The Mandalorian” and, recently, the “Fallout” TV series.
“Developing the Alo Moves MR app was a truly inspiring project because it allowed us to push the boundaries of what’s possible in the VR fitness space,” said AJ Sciutto, director of virtual production at Magnopus. “Volumetric capture was the clear choice for the instructors. It allows us to create life-size, 3D figures with incredible detail. This level of immersion fosters a deeper connection and provides a much clearer understanding of movement, especially for beginners.”
To get started, Sciutto told WWD that the team looked at other applications that offer virtual reality fitness instruction. In this research, what became apparent is that although the experience is meant to take the user into a new world, the illusion breaks as soon as you move your head or try to see a new angle because the capturing has been done from one perspective.
“For us, it was really important to create that true life form of the instructor to make it really feel like they are present with you,” Sciutto said. “There is a phenomenon in the recreation of the human form into a digital context called uncanny valley and if it’s just a little bit off it enters this realm where our brains just know there is something dichotomous there. So for us, it was really important to not capture an avatar of the instructor as a digital twin but to really capture them as a true-to-life form. Their movements and performances need to be exactly one-to-one.”
With the technology in mind, Trindall added that the Alo Moves instructors created classes that understand how the user will move their body while wearing the Meta Quest 3 headset. “It’s a combination of how you move your body but then also making sure that you’re not like laying on your belly or looking down or so that the movements are obstructed by it in any way. We cut out certain yoga moves so that you won’t get dizzy or be impacted by the headset in any way. We’ve been really mindful of that and so the instructors have done extensive testing to ensure that it feels good.”
Combining these intentionally crafted classes with the volumetric 3D technology, Trindall and Sciutto said that the experience allows the user to not focus on the interface but on their practice and become fully one with the classes.
Nodding to Alo’s continuous evolution into new categories, Trindall said the company is always “evaluating opportunities to reach [its] audience in new and innovative ways. We’re always committing to meet our consumer where they are whether it’s on their wellness journey, in the retail store or our wellness sanctuaries. We’re always trying to find innovative ways and technologies to connect. Just adding it to our customer experience and with this [we are] engaging experience at the center.”
The Alo Moves MR app for Meta Quest 3 will be launched at full scale later this year.
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