Fifth-year computer engineering major Kyle Ludwig is combining passion and science to deliver a user-friendly health app that can help even the most stubborn of couch potatoes shed those unwanted pounds. Ludwig’s app, Looma, incorporates the best elements of many popular services to produce a health plan that is fun, clean and simple.
“Looma tracks what you eat in the same way as apps like Myfitnesspal, but it also recommends food for you to eat. It’s like a Spotify of foods,” explained Ludwig, a self-taught health enthusiast. “The recommendations are based on body weight, height, fat percentage, gender and age. These factors all play into your metabolic rate and what your macronutrients should be. You swipe left and right on what you’d like to eat and the app builds a plan for your week.” This plan accounts for dietary preferences, food allergies and weight goals.
With Looma, users have the option of planning meals as far in advance as they wish. The app automatically generates a weekly grocery list to assist users in staying organized and minimizing food waste.
“Our entire focus is usability,” Ludwig said. “We’re always asking ourselves, how can we make this app easier than any other meal-planning app? What if you could learn how to help anybody, no matter what their health or body type? That’s what Looma is all about.”
Although Looma is currently only being developed for iOS, Ludwig strongly intends to design versions that will also work on Android and web platforms.
Ludwig has been fascinated by nutrition science for years, but he didn’t fully pursue his vision until after he went on a Michigan Tech sponsored trip to Silicon Valley.
He said, “The Silicon Valley trip changed everything for me. I got to visit some of the top tech companies like Google and Facebook, and even companies like Ford that are developing autonomous vehicles.”
Soon after the trip, Ludwig chose to steer his education in a different direction. “I realized that as a mechanical engineer I wasn’t going to be able to work on the things that I felt passionately about,” he said. He promptly changed his major to computer engineering, which has better informed his ability to design Looma. This expertise is evident in many components of Looma, such as the app’s ability to discern a user’s food preferences over time.
“As you use the app, Looma learns your taste preferences. It starts recommending more foods that fit your individual tastes. We have one million recipes and ten billion data points,” Ludwig said.
Looma has been in development for two years and Ludwig intends to officially launch the app in August of 2018. Crowdfunding for Looma is tentatively scheduled to begin this December via IndieGogo. Those who contribute $5 or more to the IndieGogo campaign will be eligible to become Looma beta-testers. To sign up for Looma’s email updates, please visit www.livelooma.com.
