TG0's Head of AI, Ying Liu, talks about the advancing capabilities artificial intelligence is bringing to TG0's pressure mapping technology.
Artificial Intelligence is climbing to the top of the priority list for many executives imagining the next generation of products and services. But what is often underestimated is the amount of time and data that goes into making that a reality.
*"People want AI inside every product but they underestimate how much data AI requires,"* says Ying Liu, TG0's Head of AI. *"It takes a lot of time to collect that data, and that can only happen after you've finalised the iteration of a hardware and/or software."*
etee Pose: AI-Powered Yoga Pose Estimation
One project, dubbed etee Pose, uses TG0's smart yoga pressure mat technology coupled with machine learning and AI to accurately predict a user's pose. Most other companies attempt pose estimation using cameras, which raises privacy concerns — particularly given the European AI Act, the majority of which comes into force in August 2026. TG0's approach avoids cameras entirely.
The team has been converting pressure map data into 3D coordinates. *"We have our pressure map and we're trying to convert that into 3D coordinates. We've been putting etee trackers on each joint — shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees — and then we use our own in-house library to collect the coordinates and reconstruct the human body."*
Finding the right combination of machine learning models has been a challenge. TG0 has brought in experts from King's College London and Sheffield University to assist. Models being tested include the recurrent neural network (RNN) for sequential data processing, the vision transformer (ViT), and a "liquid reservoir" model to reduce the model size so it can run on limited computing power. *"Our hope is that the final model for pose estimation won't need a laptop — it will be able to run on a single microcontroller embedded into the mat."*
As well as sport and fitness, Liu believes this will have appeal to healthcare and gaming. *"It would be great if we can integrate everything together with the etee VR controller. By stepping onto the mat, you can navigate a more realistic world in VR."*
Other AI Projects
TG0 is running a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with the University of Portsmouth, using TG0's smart insoles and AI to accurately predict ground reaction force — a step forward for health and sport science.
The team is also developing a customer service chatbot for the etee controller to offer out-of-hours support to home users. *"That's a fast project because language is the same. We're training that model to properly answer our customers' questions."*
*"In truth, not all tasks need AI,"* Liu adds. But with the right products, the necessary time, data, and expert input, AI has the potential to make what was previously deemed impossible a reality.
