[Huawei Developers] Martin Bieber:
At the beginning of 2020, all the people stayed at home. Online companies, on the other hand, have flourished, as they scramble to meet huge consumer demand. SPAX, a Chinese supplier of smart fitness services, is an active player in this niche but growing market.

During the 2020 Spring Festival period, sport e-commerce platforms saw four times more traffic, and SPAX users became three times more active. Mu Yikun, founder of SPAX, shared his thoughts: "I think this is the first of many years where we'll see the demand for live fitness broadcasts really pick up. I expect more and more businesses will begin to invest in this area."

Data: a resource too important to be ignored

Live fitness broadcasts have become increasingly popular among capital investors and sports lovers alike. No wonder then that more and more enterprises and entrepreneurs are looking to take advantage of this new business model. But to do so, they must first establish an efficient, feasible growth plan.

Unlike traditional gyms and fitness clubs which provide onsite services, SPAX has adopted a radical approach by casting aside the limitations of physical workout spaces and offering only online courses and live broadcasts. Members exercise at home using fitness equipment which has been integrated with SPAX's own OS. They receive instructions from an on-screen coach as they participate in live training courses.

This may save the costs of property rental, onsite fitness equipment, and additional labor resources, but online classes cannot compare to the real gym experience. The coach cannot give members individual feedback, and classes are far less sociable. Without substantial interaction, sessions can seem tediously long, especially to beginners.

How then can businesses make the interaction between customers and coaches more engaging? This is the question facing every business looking to provide live workout sessions. The answer is data.

That's why SPAX chose to partner with HUAWEI HiHealth. Mu Yikun said: "A live fitness broadcast should not be like a showroom. Coaches and trainers shouldn't interact by chatting, but by utilizing data."

HUAWEI HiHealth creates new possibilities with data

The HUAWEI HiHealth platform provides open capabilities to the smart wearable and fitness and health industries, allowing related hardware partners to integrate with the HUAWEI Health app. With users' consent, fitness and health data can be accessed by partners in these industries. The aim of HUAWEI HiHealth is to provide users with innovative, personalized services.

HUAWEI HiHealth provides capabilities in the form of a kit. It provides atomized and scenario-based data through Java APIs, JavaScript APIs, and Cloud APIs. In addition, Gym Profile and Wellness Profile are used to connect to southbound fitness and health devices in the ecosystem to form an industry chain for data collection, secure storage and processing, as well as sharing.

This enables partners to develop their services far more efficiently. It took two SPAX developers just two days to integrate with the HiHealth platform via the Java API. With user authorization, SPAX can then obtain a myriad of fitness and health data, including height, weight, gender, age, step count, distance traveled, calories burnt, and real-time heart rate data. By integrating with HUAWEI HiHealth, SPAX can also consolidate its data processing, privacy protection, and service provisioning for distributed scenarios, and break down the barriers between user data, platforms, and hardware.

During live workout sessions, SPAX can monitor users' real-time heart rates which are collected by Huawei smart watches, bands, or fitness devices. This means coaches can keep track of members' performance in real time, and make adjustments accordingly. This kind of data-based interaction helps boost the engagement level of members and produces better fitness results.

HUAWEI HiHealth is an open platform that delivers APIs for professional organizations providing fitness guidance, health guidance, health management, and other related services.