Metric VBT - Changelog

What's New 🚨

Major algorithm upgrade
Metric has thrown out the rulebook (again 😀) by using an all-new intelligent rep feature classifier that determines your actual rep start and end points. With this smart algorithm update your rep velocity and ROM data is more truthful and actionable than ever before, and Metric can now easily handle ballistic lifts.

Ballistic lifts added
Several new lifts have been added to the exercise list including: loaded jumps (trap bar and barbell), cleans, jerks, push-press, high-pulls and step-ups. This is made possible thanks to the new rep feature classifier algorithm.

Support for multi-athlete recording
Early access users of Metric for Teams can now quickly switch between athletes while using one device to record sets.

Support for deleting sets
For future planned capabilities we have now added the ability to delete a recorded set entirely. This can be handy if you are messing about showing someone how to use the app and don’t want their set saved in your training history (hint hint).

Improvements ✨

• Search field on the exercise selection screen. You can now quickly filter the list to find your lift.
• Fewer taps between sets. Metric previously had an extremely convenient workflow for adding a new set, but after hundreds of sets recorded we realised we could significantly reduce the taps required by condensing everything to a single screen prior to recording.

Fixes 🐛

• Accelerometer tweaks to reduce false set cut-offs. Metric was previously a little sensitive to the device being moved and would prematurely end sets. Dropping your deadlifts is now less likely to kill the set recording (thanks Bryce!)
• General bug squashing. As ever Metric has had a range of small bugs or crashes resolved.

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What's New 🚨

New exercises
Two new exercises added to the library - Step Ups and Floor Press.

Improvements ✨

• Overhauled the tracking algorithm. Metric is now able to record sets reliably from a wider range of phone positions, including placing the phone lower down relative to the barbell.
• X & Z axis correction. Metric now features X-axis and Z-axis correction so mean velocity is more accurate, and aligns with other velocity tracking technologies that also offer X-axis correction.

Fixes 🐛

• Touch ups and bug squashing. As usual stability has been tweaked, bugs and crashes should be less common as a result.

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What's New 🚨

Editing set details and hiding reps
You can now change the exercise or weight after recording a set. Even better, Metric now allows you to exclude a rep from the results. Maybe you pulled the bar too hard on set-up? No problem, press the icon next the detected rep to remove it.

Improvements ✨

• Variance is now consistency. Previously Metric reported how varied your range of motion was each set. Now Metric displays how consistent - the inverse number. Basically you should aim for 100% consistency!
• Optimisations for older phones. Users with older devices (especially on iOS 14), were sometimes getting some funky results. Metric is now better optimised for these devices and should be more reliable for these users.
• Memory handling restructure. When video was being reprocessed for accuracy, sometimes results would be wildly inaccurate. The culprit was memory handling; Metric now handles memory properly so more accurate results are in fact more accurate.

Fixes 🐛

• Tiny pop-up is no longer. A micro-sized information box in the app would randomly show up after a set and force users to re-start. We hunted down a tiny error that caused the tiny pop up and it should no longer be a problem.
• Touch ups and bug squashing. As usual stability has been tweaked, bugs and crashes should be less common as a result.

What's New 🚨

Video data overlay and easy sharing Metric now has a visualisation of your data placed on your lift video. This can help you understand how each rep looks and relate it back to your velocity. With the addition of a share button its now even easier to post your lifts to social, or quickly send them to your coach.

Rest timer Keep honest about your rest times with a new timer on the menu bar. It starts counting as soon as your last rep ends so you don’t have to do a thing!

Video re-processing Some older devices could struggle to keep up with the Metric computer vision algorithm during live recording. Now Metric will automatically detect if your device dropped frames and quickly re-process videos to confirm everything is accurate!

Fixes 🐛

• Weight field now allows comma’s to denote decimal place. Metric was not recognising European keyboard entry on the weight field. Region localisation is now turned on so Metric can be used no matter where you are!
• Missing video thumbnails have been found. Metric would sometimes show an ugly placeholder where the video thumbnail should be. Now it will always show you getting ready to max out!
• Kicking you out of the highlights screen shouldn’t be a thing. Metric was shooting people back from the screen with the bar charts before they could actually look at them. We couldn’t actually replicate this issue but Metric has been changed so that this is less likely to happen… (Let us know if you spot this bug?!)

What's New 🚨

Metric VBT now publicly available on the App Store for iOS
We are thrilled to be able to launch the first public version of Metric VBT. Metric allows users to record a set of a barbell lift and immediately receive accurate velocity and range of motion analysis.

Find Metric VBT here.

User training data in the cloud
For now there is little change to the user experience compared to the last beta, but Metric now connects to a cloud storage database which will allow future performance tracking features to be built!

Improved ✨

• Added 0% velocity loss support card. Sometimes Metric reports 0% velocity loss across a set, and that can be confusing! So now there is a support card explaining why this happens.
• Changed highlight information for single rep sets. Similarly you can’t have fatigue or variance on singles, so the highlights cards now show no value for these.

Fixes 🐛

• Tapability of cards. Some of Metric’s cards which looked tapable would not respond to taps if you didn’t tap the text or icon. Now the entire card can be tapped and Metric will respond as you expect (by opening the card!)

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What's New 🚨

Account creation
Metric now requires users to create an account. In the future your user profile will allow Metric to track your velocity data over time and much more!

Error messages and information
Metic will now report when your data may be inaccurate due to errors in phone positioning. Messages point users to a guide for these common errors, helping you quickly make adjustments to your set up.

Improved ✨

• Shortened introduction flow. We removed instructions about keeping the phone stationary from the onboarding because Metric now actually checks that your phone is stationary before recording, and warns you if it isn’t.

Fixes 🐛

• Various text and UI colour changes. Do you ever notice spelling mistakes after hitting send on an email? App interface design is like that, and since launching the new UI we have spotted a lot of little things and got to work fixing them.
• Various crash fixes. Metric was crashing and having issues with some phones on iOS14, and was being limited to 30FPS on some front facing cameras. Metric should now no longer have these issues.

What's New 🚨

New user interface design
‍Metric has been completely re-designed thanks to the feedback of our early testers. This new user interface features:

• A persistent bottom menu lets you can start a new set with fewer taps
• Refined Set Review screen following Apple design conventions
• Highlighted stats which can be expanded
• Graph and table design refinements for better clarity
• The ability to review your set video from all the major screens
• Consistent dark/light mode colour scheme

Improved ✨

• Set data retained until a new set is recorded. Metric now holds onto your set data right up until you actually record your next set. Leaving the Set Review screen will not delete this data.
• Unit type permanence. Previously if you selected pounds for your weights Metric would sometimes be stubborn and convert everything to... well, metric! Metric now accepts that metric is not the only metric.
• Velocity trace auto-trim. The velocity trace now automatically trims to the first and last rep of a set, giving you a more focused view of how the set went minus all the pre-set fluffing around.
• Ongoing improvement to algorithm precision. Metric more accurately tracks velocity and range of motion data than ever before.
• Tweaked the acceleration triggers. You probably won’t notice but Metric is just a little faster at starting a set now!

Fixes 🐛

• Removed Trap Bar Jumps and Squat Jumps. This is a temporary measure as Metric was throwing errant results for these explosive lifts. A future release will bring these back when Metric can confidently handle explosive lifts!
• Various crash fixes. The endless hunt for the source of crashes on certain devices continues. Metric is now more efficient than ever, meaning many commonly reported crashes should be resolved.
• Video rotation fix. Sometimes Metric would warp and stretch your video in unexpected ways. Now Metric should present videos as expected.
• Camera preview dropout fix. Some users experienced a camera preview dropout while recording multiple sets in a row. We believe we found the culprit for this behaviour, and Metric should now correctly show you what Metric is seeing when recording.

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Improved ✨

• Enhancement to the velocity detection algorithm.
  The increase in fidelity with version 0.2.0 exposed a skew in Metric’s measurement of fast movements where bar speed exceeded ~0.8m/s mean velocity. This update removes this skew at faster velocity, further improving Metric’s validity and correlation to MOCAP reference data. Users may see notable change to their reported velocity for fast reps.

Fixes 🐛

• Fixed a selection of annoying crashes.
  Metric pushes some older devices to the limit, often asking too much (of their memory and graphic processing). Metric is now less demanding, so older devices should no longer throw in the towel during sets!

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Improved ✨

• MAJOR UPGRADE to the velocity detection algorithm.
  Metric has been overhauled to enable high frame rate analysis at higher video resolution. This results in superior measurement fidelity and processing speed. Metric could previously process live video at 480p resolution at throttled frames per second. Significant re-writing of code now enables live video processing at HD 720p resolution and 60 frames per second. To say we are ecstatic about this update is an understatement!
• Tweaking the movement triggers that end set recording.
  Metric should end the set recording when you pick up your device, but not when you bump it or drop weights. The device accelerometer monitoring has been tuned to better distinguish events and this should prevent set recording from ending early. We expect the trigger algorithm will need further refinement but this version should be a big step in the right direction!

Fixes 🐛

• Fixed a selection of annoying crashes. Metric would spontaneously and dramatically stop in the middle of some users’ workouts. Now it should be more considerate and keep working for as long as you do.
• Made the results table display more reps. Some users (who apparently enjoy pain and discomfort) would do sets of more than 17 reps. Metric previously couldn’t scroll that far on the results table, but now displays as many rows as required to pinpoint the exact moment you lost the will to go on.
• Reduced media playback cut-outs. Your music or podcasts will cut-out at least 50% less often when starting sets. The other 50% is still unresolved but we continue to aim for perfection!

Improved ✨

• Update to the ROM measurement algorithm. Metric uses a velocity threshold to determine the starting point of each rep when calculating ROM. This could result in overly short ROM for very slow reps. Now the algorithm waits for the velocity threshold, but travels back in time to where the bar first moved. As a result, the Metric ROM calculation is now more accurate without counting false reps.
• Sticking-point recognition. When you hit a sticking point Metric would sometimes think you had actually reached the end of your rep. Now Metric believes in you, and will keep measuring the rep all the way to the top as you grind it out!
• Refined the device movement trigger for ending recordings. Metric stops recording when you pick up your phone. Previously the movement trigger was a little too sensitive, and vibrations from dropping weights could end your set too early. Metric should now recognise the difference between vibrations and you actually picking up your phone.

Fixes 🐛

• Fixed a bug that resulted in some users experiencing a crash while recording their sets. We were able to replicate the bug and Metric should now stay open and continue recording instead of just quietly giving up.
• Tidied up pixels that were not quite up to par with a few UI tweaks (thanks Andrew!) so the interface is now in a better place.