Metric VBT - Changelog

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.

Fixes 🐛

• Fixed a bug where after selecting your weight Metric would correctly display the camera briefly, before incorrectly returning you back to the weight selection screen. This was due to a known problem with certain versions of iOS 14. Now instead of being refused entry to the future of VBT, Metric users on iOS 14 can actually experience it!
• Changed the app settings so it is no longer available on iPad. Truthfully Metric wasn't built for iPad, so users who installed it found everything was a bit off. One day soon we will make a version for iPad... but that is not today!

What's New 🚨

Movement warnings prior to recording

‍Because the device must be stationary to correctly measure velocity, Metric now features warnings when the phone is moved or not in a vertical position. This prevents you from recording sets before the camera is correctly positioned.

Picking up the device ends recording

To make it faster to end a set simply pick up your phone. Metric will automatically stop the recording when it detects movement.

Removed video upload feature

Now that in-app recording is working great, we no longer need the ability to upload footage from the camera roll for testing. This simplifies using the app, and also stops users uploading videos that have movement or the wrong camera settings, both of which were resulting in sub-par data.

Improvements ✨

• Velocity-time trace graph upgraded. Metric now shows a much better looking and more readable graph.
• Minor changes to text sizing and colours.

Fixes 🐛

• Fixed a text wrapping issue on some crucial pieces of information on several buttons and alerts. There's nothing worse than when a sentence just...
• Certain progress indicators were not being displayed at the right time. They now show up where they should, letting you know that Metric is processing your video rather than frozen!

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What's New 🚨

Set Summary Page

After your set you will now be directed straight to a set summary highlighting key numbers from your set like best rep velocity, velocity loss and ROM variance

Bar charts

We now have a rep-by-rep bar chart in the Set Review screen which helps if you are the visual type! It is excellent for understanding how performance changed over the course of your set.

Onboarding tutorial

The key instructions for using Metric are now in an illustrated onboarding when you open the app for the first time, and also available from a Help button on the Home Screen.

Improvements ✨

• Enhanced post-set workflow.
  When you have finished reviewing a set you can now save it and immediately start your next set with the press of a single button.

Fixes 🐛

• Fixed landscape orientation killing the app. We have locked the app in Vertical orientation to prevent it becoming very not functional if you turned your phone on its side.
• In certain cases racking and un-racking the bar was being mis-categorised as a rep. The rep detection model should now properly ignore racking and un-racking!

What's New 🚨

HD Video

Metric records sets in HD from either the rear or front-facing camera at 60 FPS. This means when you save the video to your camera roll it will be nice and crispy, just like your lifts.

Exercise and load picker

Prior to recording you can now select your exercise and weight. This information is then displayed on the Set Review screen so you can remember what you are looking at. If you screenshot your results this is quite helpful.

Improvements ✨

• Listen to music while recording your sets.
  Previously when recording a set the video camera would take control of the audio, interrupting whatever you had playing. We wrestled the audio back under your control so you can keep smashing PRs to Tay Tay!
• Less numbers on the review screen.
  We have simplified the set analysis page to just highlight Mean Velocity and ROM. We also reduced decimal places to make the results table much easier on the eyes.
• The rep and velocity detection model got better (again).
  Uploaded videos process much faster, and missed reps should be few and far between now.
  

Fixes 🐛

• Fixed a strange flicker where dark-mode or light-mode switched for a moment when going from recording back to the app home screen. The flicker is no more.
• Fixed a crash which happened for some users on first installing the app. Metric was asking too many questions about your device when you opened it. It’s much more restrained now. Everything is on a need-to-know basis.