Q1Which countries does SmartMat deliver to?

SmartMat ships worldwide! We've already had orders placed from over 50 countries. Delivery is free within the United States and Canada, and $45 for all other countries.

Q2Why don’t you ask for my delivery address on the order form?

Because we're currently taking pre-orders for SmartMat, we know there's a good chance many of you might need to update your delivery address within that time. So to simplify things, we'll contact you via email to get your address and arrange delivery shortly before your SmartMat is ready to send out. If your delivery address is outside of the United States or Canada, we'll send you a link to pay your $45 shipping fee then too.

Q3The order form requires a post code / zip code, but my country doesn’t have them. What do I do?

Just type 000000 and that will solve it!

Q4What are the dimensions of SmartMat

26 x 71 with a 6mm thickness. (you would never know the difference)

Q5What is the weight limit on SmartMat

60 lbs to 300 lbs. After 300 lbs we cannot guarantee accurate readings on single limb poses (such as the eagle), although multi-limb poses will still register effectively. We had to set a cutoff weight for the sake of cost-effective manufacturing and durability.

Q6What Material is used in building SmartMat?

The insides of SmartMat are a conductive grid placed over a piezoresistive layer. This is sandwiched seamlessly on top and bottom by a custom yoga mat material manufactured in an eco friendly manner that eliminates the toxic emissions often found in PVC manufacturing process. This process also ensures the durability of SmartMat, which is designed to be used in Daily practice for years.

Q7Does SmartMat roll up?

Yup. SmartMat rolls up seamlessly around the tech dongle attached to the end, and can be carried just like a "typical" yoga mat.

Q8Why do you call it "Yoga?" Don't you know that Yoga is a complete system consisting of 8 parts, of which Asana (physical movement) practice is only one part?

We know. But 80% of people reading this page and probably purchasing our product won't. We would prefer to have a minor (and socially accepted) semantic mishap rather than confuse (and possibly alienate) people who otherwise would never have the chance to experience "yoga," asana, or whatever you would like to call it. Creating smart-products that address the other "limbs" of yoga is on our roadmap for future products as our company develops.

Q9What is the Difference between In Class Assist and In Home Private?

In Home Private mode allows you to select a yoga class on your SmartMat app, follow the sequence and receive real time adjustments and score from SmartMat. Think of it as "yoga video 2.0." Whereas In Class Assist you may bring SmartMat to your Public Yoga class or do your own flow at home, and SmartMat will determine your sequence of poses offering you real time adjustments on placement and balance. These adjustments can be done using audio or visually if you need to maintain silence during a public class.

Q10How do you actually determine a "Perfect Pose?"

This can be a tricky one. For example, if you ask 10 different "yoga" teachers what is a perfect Downward Dog, you may get 10 different answers. In reality there is no "exact science" to Asana practice with an initial basis of theory in Patanjali's Sutras, to more modern specifics in Iyengar's Light on Yoga, to the dozens of accepted variations and evolutions of modern practice and science. With SmartMat, we try to define a conservative "middle way" for the Perfect Pose that takes into account user height, weight, Ape Index and various micro-readings determined via the calibration process.

Q11Tell me a little more about the calibration phase.

When you first unpack SmartMat, you need to go through a calibration process where you put in basic information (height, weight, gender, age). Next, you will lie down on SmartMat so it can determine your Ape Index (ratio/length of torso/arms vs. legs), which is important for calibration. After this, SmartMat will take you through a series of poses, negotiating with you and suggesting adjustments as it determines what is, in fact, your "Perfect Pose" in the initial controlled clinical calibration phase. SmartMat will use this information as a baseline for recommendations during your practice sessions.

Q12Will SmartMat measure and adjust "groundwork" such as Heroes Pose and Pigeon pose?

Short answer is YES! SmartMat is trained to recognize almost every yoga pose out there and give meaningful feedback. On some poses, balance is less relevant than alignment so SmartMat will adjust feedback accordingly.

Q13How will SmartMat recognize poses with similar hand and foot placements?

Great question! This is best explained with an illustration of Tadasana (Mountain Pose) and Ukatasana (Chair Pose). Both have effectively the same foot placement, however you will find that for Mountain Pose the weight is more or less distributed equally on the four corners of the feet. Whereas in Chair Pose the weight is approximately %75 on the heels and %25 on the toe pads. Much will be determined in the initial calibration phase and furthermore, SmartMat will learn about your practice and grow with you, making real time adjustments and calibrations according to your achievements and feedback.

Q14Can SmartMat be used during Hot Yoga Sessions?

Yup, we love Hot Yoga, and the electronic components in SmartMat are rated to withstand up to 110F and any sort of sweat, so you will be safe. Your smartphone is another story, however, and you may want to bring a protective sleeve for it during Hot Yoga class.

Q15So SmartMat will talk to me during my Yoga Practice?

Well yes. She (SmartMat is female) will give you feedback in a few different ways. There will be a live "heatmap" on your Smart device, which will first take you through a sequence to adjust for alignment; and then after alignment is settled it will adjust for proper balance. You may optionally set the feedback to be only visual (if you are in a public class), or audio and visual if you are practicing privately.

Q16Does SmartMat work with Yoga Props (block, strap, bolster)?

You may use all of these, and SmartMat will recognize a Yoga Block as such. Due to the uniform surface spread of a Block, it will not be able to give detailed feedback on balance; however, alignment readings and adjustments will be read correctly.

Q17What about this tech dongle thingie?

This is a low profile device that attaches to the front of SmartMat with a series of eletrostatic magents (similar to the charger cable on a Mac laptop), and doubles as a phone/tablet stand during your practice.

Q18Can I wash SmartMat?

Yes, you may use a light non-abrasive spray to clean the surface.

Q10How long will SmartMat hold a charge?

SmartMat is initially designed to hold a charge for 6 hours of practice without requiring a recharge

Q20How do I charge SmartMat/How long does it take?

You plug the tech dongle thingie via micro USB to any USB charger. A wall socket will charge it to full power in approx. 90 minutes

Q21Can SmartMat be used by more than one person?

Well not at the same time; however you may have multiple users. Each user will require their own calibration.

Q22Can SmartMat be used by a teacher in a group setting?

This is coming in Phase II, which is not ready for release just yet. It will involve a "controller" app for the teacher, which will link into all of the students' SmartMats. The teacher will get real time feedback on students' practice for tracking and adjustments. This can be done live in a class, or a teacher could teach a class over the internet and monitor their students' progress in this way.

Q23Will SmartMat require an Internet connection to function?

Except for the stated case above - Nope. It will simply require linkup with your smartphone/tablet, which does not require an active Internet connection to function. Yippie!

Q24 Will SmartMat work on all floor surfaces?

We have tested SmartMat to work perfectly on hard and flat surfaces and most carpets.

Q25 How am I supposed to see my Phone/Tablet while I am practicing?

Ohh. . we thought about this one long and hard. SmartMat has an integrated phone/tablet stand that will prop up your device near the front of the mat for easy viewing with minimal footprint and impact.

Q26SmartMat sounds awesome! Why hasn't this been done before?

We asked the same question, and after digging into initial engineering we determined the cause. Unlike many crowdfunded campaigns that "launch" with nothing more than an idea and a pretty video, we have actually invested over $100,000 USD of our own money into research and development to make sure that we can actually deliver SmartMat on time, and at the pledge price stated.

There are two main technical hurdles that we have come across and have solved:

Hurdle 1: Manufacturing a mat with pressure sensors is easy; manufacturing a mat with pressure sensors that can roll up and be portable is not! We got this solved through a unique proprietary solution which accurately presents a real time "heatmap" of the users practice.

Hurdle 2: Getting those sensors inside a yoga mat is not easy! Yoga mats are typically made in 2 ways. One is a two-layered approach with a different top and bottom that are heat-fused together at very high temperature. The other way is single cast molding, which also requires a very high temperature. Inevitably this high temperature (think REALLY HOT) will fry most electronic components, so we needed an outside-the-box solution that would work on scaled production. Through numerous trials and tests, we have found a unique solution that works exactly as it should.

Hurdle 3: Programming an app to calibrate and give real time adjustments based on pressure response from a mat is A LOT OF Work, and more importantly, a HUGE creative challange. It is not easy. And even before the launch of this campaign the challenge has consumed our programming team for the better part of 2014. In doing initial analysis and calibration (warning: geek out time) to get to the correct analysis engine they have had to go through numerous analysis methods, including a neural network and various imaging methods in order to find the right balance between speed, efficiency and accuracy for processing. Needless to say we are pleased with the results in hand.

Unlike many "other crowdfunded ideas" we made the commitment to ourselves and to the community that we would not launch SmartMat, until we could answer very firmly the following questions:

• We can build this at scale and our cost per unit is X

• We can deliver this by X Date

It took us a long time, numerous trips to the factory and many prototypes to honestly answer these questions, but we are now ready. So let's do this!

Q28Where do I come in?

To bring a product such as SmartMat to market requires considerable scale in the manufacturing process. In order to achieve this scale to manufacture safely and effectively with proper Quality Control, we need to setup custom machinery and molds. This is why we need you. Your vote of confidence and contribution to SmartMat will enable us to bring SmartMat to market in a robust and speedy manner. To reserve your First Adopters Edition of SmartMat, please pre-order by clicking the button at the top of the page.