Hack Your Treadmill With AI and an Arduino
If you know your way around an electronics lab, there are plenty of ways to make an old treadmill feel modern. However, nearly all of them involve attaching sensors, installing magnets, or opening up the machine to tap into its electronics. That wasn't an option for Raul Muñoz. The treadmill in his home was rented, so any permanent modifications were off the table. Instead, he found a way to transform it into a Bluetooth smart treadmill without touching the hardware at all.
His solution relies on a USB webcam and an Arduino VENTUNO Q development board. Rather than measuring the belt directly, the system simply watches the treadmill from the side. An AI model running locally on the board estimates walking speed from the video feed, then broadcasts that speed over Bluetooth using the Fitness Machine Service (FTMS) profile. To fitness apps, it looks just like a commercial smart treadmill.
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