"You can see their knees just by watching them walk": The identity of the AI analyzing the elderly's bodies

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As people age, their bodies inevitably do not function as they once did. Knees ache, shoulders stiffen, and at some point, even simple tasks like washing one's hair or going grocery shopping become burdensome. As physical functions gradually decline, the need for care and support begins to grow.

The challenge lies in the difficulty of knowing that point in advance. While hospital health checkups can measure body composition and blood pressure, there has been no adequate indicator to gauge "how the body will move one year or ten years from now." Senior healthcare social venture Limoving Company has focused on this very point.

Lee Hyun-soo, CEO of Limoving Company, emphasized, "We can tell how bad someone's knees are just by watching them walk in," adding that "automating this intuition with data and AI is our technical competitive edge."

Lee Hyun-soo, CEO of Limoving Company, is an entrepreneur who graduated from the Impact MBA (IMBA), a two-year program jointly operated by SK Group and Haengboknarae in collaboration with KAIST Graduate School of Management. The IMBA was established to nurture capable social venture entrepreneurs.

IMBA provides incoming students with professional acceleration, startup support, one-on-one mentoring by dedicated entrepreneurship professors, and legal and accounting advisory services. Since launching the program in 2013, SK Group has consistently nurtured social venture entrepreneurs.

For Lee Hyeon-su (CEO), IMBA was a major turning point as an entrepreneur. After earning a master's degree in Global Sports Management from Seoul National University, he launched his first startup in 2018 as a public sports facility platform but reportedly faced challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lee (CEO) knocked on the door of IMBA with the resolve to "properly pursue impactful businesses." IMBA evaluates students each semester on both "how well they manage" and "how much impact they create." He emphasized that "the greatest asset was receiving training to consider both simultaneously."

Lee (CEO) is launching a new venture targeting the senior market, given that South Korea has entered a super-aged society with over 20% of its population aged 65 and older. He said, "One in five people are potential customers; how can there be low growth?" and added, "It is an area where the meaning and growth potential as a social venture coexist."

He added, "When I first started my company and made pitches, there was not much interest in seniors. Now, it is to the extent that no large corporation is left without a senior-related business. As resources from financial institutions and large corporations have flowed in, industrial infrastructure has been rapidly established."

The name fully embodies his philosophy. It means to "remove" unhealthy elements such as poor exercise habits, and through that process, to enable people to "re-move" by expanding their range of daily life.

The business of Limoving Company rests on two main pillars. One is the enhancement of premium functional exercise classes (PT) centered around its Apgujeong headquarters, and the other is the supply of a device called "Mosheonari," which uses a 3D multi-joint camera to recognize seniors' movements and measure and analyze their physical functions and joint conditions.

Lee (CEO) explained, "While InBody analyzes body composition and other devices mainly focus on posture and physique, we analyze movement. We have also automated the design of programs needed to enhance motor functions through measurement of movement using AI."

For example, it measures movements such as shoulder rotations and predicts that "you may soon find it difficult to wash your hair alone due to frozen shoulder." If the calf muscles are insufficient, it sends exercises tailored to this condition via mobile phone, enabling users to continue a strengthening program on their own during the next visit.

The core objective is not merely to measure muscle mass, but to quantify the "Activities of Daily Living (ADL)" essential for independent life—such as grocery shopping alone or using the restroom—and to predict diseases and fall accidents.

The company is supplying B2G to senior centers, welfare centers, health centers, and community halls. He compared the situation by saying, "Just as karaoke rooms are well-equipped in Korea, leading to many people who sing well, our goal with Removing Company is to create a 'workout room' that can be easily used anywhere."

The geographic location with its headquarters in Apgujeong has become a key factor in enhancing technical competitiveness. Lee (CEO) said, "There are many elderly people in this neighborhood who are former chairmen and members of the National Assembly," adding, "When we deliver high-satisfaction services that have undergone their demanding feedback to B2G, most doubts about quality disappear."

To date, more than 5,000 users have completed the precision measurement and exercise classes at Removing Company. A senior customer, originally a chairman of a credit card company who undergoes annual health checkups, reportedly expressed gratitude by stating, "Among my friends, I am the only one whose physical functions have been improving for several years."

Moshoneri has recently been introduced at the special assistance service area of Incheon International Airport. This measure was implemented to prevent safety accidents by monitoring the movements of elderly individuals who often operate carts and cause incidents. Building on this initiative, there are plans to expand Moshoneri's supply to other public safety sectors, including license renewals.

The moving company is achieving results globally as well. It supplies measurement and analysis solutions along with exercise content as a module to overseas companies that either sell hardware directly or already possess platforms. The company is also collaborating with a Spanish social welfare services and medical device firm to promote the supply of local equipment.

The goal of Lee (CEO) is to contribute to the dignity of seniors while reducing national medical costs by delaying the timing of medical care. He emphasized, "Just like studying, exercise can be done better if you know your own condition," and added, "We will create an environment where people can easily assess their condition and understand how to manage it without having to visit a hospital."

[Money Today startup media platform 'Unicorn Factory']