
Show HN: Jumper, a robot to help you exercise every day - aroc
http://get-jumper.com/
======
aroc
Hey everyone, I recently built this FB Messenger bot to help me exercise more
regularly. I found that I was pretty off-and-on-again for exercise and wanted
to be a lot more consistent. I feel _so_ much better when I exercise every
day. I originally built this for just myself, but I was asked by a few other
people if they could use it - so I went ahead and launched it publicly.

I know, it's pretty basic. With the amazing exercise apps and services out
there, what use is a silly little bot like this? I can't really give you a
solid answer - but I will say it's absolutely helped me exercise significantly
more than I had before. The daily reminder in the morning gets me in the
mindset of wanting to do something active each day.

Let me know what you think. :)

~~~
blingojames
Looks very nice and a nice idea :) you could expand the idea to other fields
(like going over bills, etc.) Makes me think of a backward Tamagotchi where
the computer takes care of the human :)

~~~
aroc
"backwards Tamagotchi where the computer takes care of the human" has got me
down a deep dark hole of thought about computers taking care of humans now
haha. Simple statement, but lots to unpack there.

Having "robots", whether chat bots or something else, look at your data and
make suggestions on how to improve is something I find super interesting. One
for your finances certainly is a n interesting idea.

~~~
sp527
Interesting that the chat dynamic worked out so much better for this use case
than an app with notifications. In theory, you don't really need an
interactive chat agent for any of these use cases, but I guess what's being
posited (by you and the rapidly growing 'chat bot industry' at large) is that
personifying a UX is more engaging than the alternatives.

Do you think this working better for yourself (and your friends, I take it) is
a result of motivational agents being inherently more effective as chat bots
than traditional push-based systems (SMS/emails/app notifications)?

~~~
aroc
So _this_ the crux of this whole project. You nailed what is "interesting"
here. This should, by no means, be more effective for anyone who's currently
using it. This bot is pretty damn simple. But the personification is seemingly
the reason it "works". I did actually spend a reasonable amount of time
writing (what I think) are kind of goofy/silly/funny/motivational responses to
things which I think has made this project fare much better than simple "You
worked out? K thanks." style responses.

Example: My girlfriend joked recently, after starting to exercise a lot more
after a short hiatus, that she was "rekindling her relationship with Jumper."
I found that statement pretty deep - that's not something she would have said
about a standard exercise app (I think?).

~~~
sp527
Hah that's really great. Thanks for elaborating!

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gtirloni
I read the title here and thought it was an actual robot. Maybe
s/robot/chatbot/ ?

It looks very useful. Congrats on shipping this.

~~~
aroc
I probably should have said "chatbot" instead of robot. :/ And thanks for the
congrats! I really appreciate you letting me know your impression on it.

------
rorykoehler
If you're looking for useful features to build I would find a well being
tracker very useful. Exercising isn't my problem. Injuries are. If the bot
would manage my schedule so if my back is stiff it recommends certain
exercises or if I haven't done cardio in a while it recommends that instead of
weights etc it would be fantastic. With ML I can imagine being able to build a
statistical model off the back of this that would be able to perfectly curate
a program for optimal health based on frequency of exercise, type of exercise
and reported well-being.

~~~
aroc
This sort of stuff is really interesting to me. I think _any_ app/service can
use ML though, it doesn't have to be a chatbot. I'm actually surprised we
aren't already seeing more of this. I feel like most all fitness trackers are
more concerned with the very specific details of your current workout (speed,
heart rate, etc) but don't look at the wider trends across many days, weeks,
months, etc.

If anyone has seen a service that does this, I'd love for you to share it
here!

------
narrator
One of the most annoying things about physical fitness is you can't really
outsource it. In the end, you have to do the work, with a trainer or whatever.
There's just no way around it short of perhaps steroids speeding things up.

For cardio, the most tolerable way I've found to do it everyday is to get a
heart rate monitor, get a machine that can adjust difficulty based on a target
heart rate and then do that for 30 minutes with headphones and a good podcast
or audiobook on. I try to ignore everything but the podcast. Things seem to
work OK that way.

~~~
FigBug
I've just recently gotten into [http://zwift.com/](http://zwift.com/), it's
the only thing I've found that makes riding indoors tollerable, almost fun.
The power meter on the bike connects to zwift, the more power you put out, the
faster you go. There are a few virtual locations you can ride around, ride
with other people. There are also workouts, where you need to hold a certain
power for certain time. The workouts are scaled based on the power you can do.
I prefer working out with power than heart rate since it responds a lot faster
and is less affected by other things going on in your life. Mind you, a bike,
a trainer and a power meter is pretty expensive if you don't already have
them.

~~~
rorykoehler
Does this work with rollers?

~~~
ddeck
Yes, but you need an ANT+ power meter on the bike to make it in anyway
realistic. More info here:

[https://support.zwift.com/hc/en-us/articles/203968635--
Setti...](https://support.zwift.com/hc/en-us/articles/203968635--Setting-up-
zPower-Classic-Trainer-Rollers)

------
gerry_shaw
Well done. Great idea and execution!

Have you giving any thought of using a different platform? I like the idea of
writing a chat bot myself that would work iOS built in Messages but I can't
seem to think of a way around it short of using SMS and Twillo which would
start to get expensive. Anybody have any suggestions?

~~~
aroc
Thank you!! :D

I actually started out on SMS with Twilio! I switched to Facebook Messenger
simply because it was starting to get expensive and I really started to miss
the niceties of using a proper chat platform: thing like predictable message
delivery, getting someone's first name without asking, and easy/free image
embedding.

I'm going to try and do Google Hangouts and Slack next - unless someone has
other good ideas for platforms to support?

------
nlawalker
Nice idea!

Is the chatbot implementation intended as a prototype or the final product? I
think it keeps the barrier to entry low and it's got a bit of fun novelty
value to it, but the value in your (great) idea comes entirely from the fact
that it's quick and painless to use, and it could be 10x quicker and less
painful with virtually any interface besides a chatbot.

Mobile keyboards _suck_ , and nothing highlights that more than seeing a cool
idea that could deliver a good value to me by simply asking me to tap one or
two large-ish buttons once per day, but that I instead need to chat with.

Edit: I realize there's a large personal preference component to this as well.
I personally would rather have a button or two to tap, but I do see how the
chatbot-powered anthropomorphization could be a very effective motivator for
people who like that.

~~~
aroc
So the "friction" conversation about a product like this is pretty interesting
imo.

One one hand, the bot is easy to get started with: Almost everyone already has
the software (assuming Jumper works on multiple chat platforms) to get started
right away with very little friction or commitment (no "signup" required).

On the other hand, once you _are_ started - the chatbot interface is certainly
higher friction than a traditional app would be (say, with two big buttons as
you suggest).

But the while the app approach is lower friction once you've started, getting
people to download and install an app is quite tough. Have you seen the latest
data on how many apps the average American downloads in a month? It's zero!!!
Crazy eh? So that barrier is one I wanted to avoid.

In the end though, the reason I chose the chat platform and the reason it _is_
the final implementation for Jumper is that I've been super interested in the
power of conversational interfaces and their ability to change human
perception. Don't get me wrong - the "chatbot" craze is pretty exhausting to
me too and I feel most chatbot products/services could have been built in a
more traditional interface and have been far more successful. In fact, I built
a failed chatbot for analytics not long ago. But when it comes to motivating
people to exercise, I think having a conversation with an "exercise buddy" is
more likely to get people to exercise. I mean, if I didn't believe that, I
would have just used one of the currently available fitness apps and set up
simple reminders. Of course, I may be very wrong here haha. But so far it's
working!

~~~
nlawalker
Awesome, and good reasoning all around. This is indeed absolutely worth a
shot; you may have found a really great fit for a chatbot. I'll be keeping an
eye on this one, congrats on shipping!

------
meesterdude
I am working on an app in a similar space; although as a bot is a novel idea I
had not considered. But it looks like you're doing a lot of things right in
creating an experience thats engaging and memorable. Plus you've got a great
name!

Great job on that landing page too - crystal clear.

~~~
aroc
Thanks so much! Honestly, I think I'm more excited about the landing page than
I am the chatbot at times haha. I built it using
[http://tachyons.io](http://tachyons.io) and I'm not sure I've ever had more
fun writing HTML/CSS. Definitely check out that CSS framework.

------
zapt02
This actually feels like a useful application for a chat bot as opposed to a
gimmick, well done!

~~~
aroc
Thank you so much! I've been operating Jumper for ~4 months with a small group
of people and the conclusion most people have made: It's useful because it's
very lightweight and the personal style interaction helps with motivation more
than say, a RunKeeper iOS push notification. Whether that conclusion holds
true for lots of people, who knows! But it's sure been a fun project so far
that's helped some people get into better shape. :D

------
danielkdewar
Interesting idea and execution. As mentioned above, I imagined a physical
robot, not a chatbot, so might need some clarification in future messaging
revisions.

Also interested to learn more about how you plan to utilise user data to make
the platform smarter.

------
obaid
Awesome. I have been experimenting with Facebook Messenger bots as well. Did
you use any existing framework/tool to create the bot?

Also, I am building a service that allows bots to gather actionable feedback
from the users. I am looking for some testers. Let me know if you would be
interested in helping out. :)

------
highd
Somewhat off topic - has anyone used a desk bicycle (pedals) or treadmill for
a significant period of time? Being able to do that for an hour every workday
would be an amazing health improvement basically for free (in terms of time),
but I have difficulty imagining anybody sticking to it.

~~~
FigBug
Yes, one of my co-workers had a spin desk. He said you couldn't really ride
with a heart rate above 100 bpm and still concentrate. He was doing a huge
amount of very low intensity riding, it didn't have much benefit, but hugely
increased appetite.

~~~
highd
Ouch - worst of both worlds!

~~~
aroc
No kidding - happy to hear some feedback about how well those actually work.
I've been wondering.

------
soared
Would love to see an SMS option! I don't keep fb messenger installed on my
phone.

~~~
aroc
Jumper actually started out as SMS. It operated solely on SMS for about 2
months, but the unpredictable message delivery, high cost or messages (esp.
images) and lack of access to user profiles made me switch.

Is there another chat platform you'd prefer to use? Slack? Google Hangouts?
Telegram?

~~~
lappa
Not the person you're responding to, but aren't there service plans with
unlimited texting and images? I'd definitely use this service if I could text.

~~~
aroc
No unlimited plans from Twilio, unfortunately.
[https://www.twilio.com/sms/pricing](https://www.twilio.com/sms/pricing)

Maybe another SMS service offers that? If so, I'd certainly consider SMS
again.

~~~
1812calif
I'd be fine paying for it to cover the cost of SMS. Like parent, I'm not
willing to use facebook to get access, even for free.

One option would be to re-enable the SMS option for people who deposit money
to cover the SMS fees. Mark them up 100% (so 2c per SMS or something) and
you'll have a built-in profit margin.

~~~
aroc
That's not a bad idea. If people covered the cost I'd have no problem adding
SMS back!

------
jensvdh
This is a cool idea! I'll start using Jumper.

------
danr4
Good idea. Just got back to training and I need someone to guilt me when I've
been lazy.

~~~
aroc
haha this will hopefully do the trick! If it doesn't, let me know how it could
be better! :)

------
nzjrs
Or you know, just exercise every second day?

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vinchuco
Beware of overtraining

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megablast
Where is the robot?

------
jackhack
Neat idea, but I'm put off by the gratuitous profanity: >>you exercised 5 of
the last 7 days. Dammmnnnnnn! Keep kicking ass.

Not everything has to be edgy. Can't you simply say "Great job!" or "congrats"
?

