iNubaBox: Spanish start-up that has developed a 3D human body scanner. Ever wanted an avatar of your exact body shape? Well, you can now.

Rodrigo Aldecoa is CTO and co-founder of iNuba along with co-CEOs Pablo Calatayud Navarro and Pablo Honrubia Catalán.

The Spanish health and fitness tech company was founded in January 2020 and attracted its first investment in the first week of February 2020 just before the world began to close it doors for the pandemic.

“My background is in computer science and mathematics. I have a PhD in computer science and have been postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Diego, and here in Boston at Northeastern University,” Aldecoa says.

iNubaBox 3D Body Scanner

“The original idea came from my founding partners. One of them (Catalán) is a sports scientist working with athletes, and soccer players from La Liga, the Spanish first division. He’s been working for many years in the physical training and injuries of elite athletes.”

“The other one (Navarro)has also been involved in sports for a long time. He’s got a PhD in Phycology and he’s also been working or investigating in the research how physical activity affects, or is interlinked, with wellness and health.”

“They saw that there was a gap in many of the tools professionals and doctors used and they felt they could improve the technology. We developed an integrated device in which we get a full-body scan of the user,” he explains.

The iNubaBox measures body composition, which uses bioimpedance. It monitors your fat percentage, muscle percentage, weight, health indexes, metabolic age and caloric needs, all in real-time. The iNubaBox uses over 300 metrics to deliver a 3D avatar of the body.

The thermographic analysis is also used and can be a competent indication of healthy joints and muscles and an early detector of areas weakening before the injury.

The likes of this detail would only have been available via a doctor or healthcare professional hence iNuba plugging this gap in the market.

“We are not a medical device, we are not a diagnosis device, but we do the analysis and give you all the information,” he explains.

All the information is sent to iNuba’s mobile app where you can track your geometrics over time. The app is iNuba’s training and nutrition platform.

Through the app, iNuba can generate fully personalised nutrition and training plans. It can be used either separately from, or together with, a body analysis from the iNubaBox. For those with no access to an iNubaBox, measurements can be entered into the app manually.

“We have a team of nutritionists and a team of physical trainers. We create our content and our algorithms which recommend nutrition plans and workout plans,” says Aldecoa.

Just how accurate is the 3D body scan?

“The thermographic analysis is as accurate as the camera used and we are using a professional camera for that. The measurements of the body we think are within one centimetre of accuracy,” he explains.

The app is going down the B2C route. Basically, it’s for anyone with a mobile phone, and is becoming increasingly available in new markets.

However, the iNubaBox is interned for professional sporting clubs as well as being available in areas where there is foot traffic like gyms and malls.

“We are talking to sports teams from the first division in Spain. They are interested as they monitor their players. They seem to be more interested in the thermographic analysis,” he explains.

“Early on they can detect injuries and see inflammation. For a soccer team having an injured player costs them a lot of money,” he adds.

iNuba are also in contact with rugby clubs in the UK who are interested in the tech for their high injury sport.