Karlsruhe App Training Arc: "If you don't move, you don't get any points."

At first glance, the Training Arc website looks like a normal computer game. But looks can be deceiving. Because this game cannot simply be mastered from a gaming chair. If you get involved with Training Arc, you have to get your body moving and train. “If you don’t move, you don’t get any points. It’s as simple as that,” says Miriam Albrecht. The Master’s student at Karlsruhe University of Education came up with the idea for the app. Together with David Maslim, the game is now being put into practice.

Karlsruhe app is sponsored by the Hoepfner Foundation

The development is made possible by the Latitude49 grant from the Hoepfner Foundation. Albrecht and Maslim can work for a year free of charge in a double container on the Hoepfner site in Karlsruhe’s Oststadt district. They will receive a basic salary of 1,000 euros and material costs of up to 8,000 euros will also be covered. “However, it will still take some time before implementation. But we think we’ll be ready in spring 2025,” says Albrecht. Putting a prototype online first or presenting an unfinished version is out of the question for her. “It has to be perfect. Otherwise the concept won’t appeal to young people.”

Training Arc is designed for teenagers’ smartphones

This is why Training Arc is designed exclusively for smartphones. After all, cell phones with high-quality cameras and high-resolution displays are the target group’s constant companions. Albrecht and Maslim are also receiving specialist support from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the CyberLab start-up laboratory of the CyberForum high-tech entrepreneurs’ network when developing the app and founding the company.

Albrecht currently wants to raise awareness among children and young people about exercise and healthy eating at offline events at a youth center in Karlsruhe. Albrecht and Maslim can also gain new insights for their project through contact with young people. “It is becoming increasingly clear when children enter a new developmental phase,” says Albrecht. Between the ages of 10 and 13, young people have different needs to those between 13 and 16, and from the age of 16, new standards need to be set.

Founder came up with the idea while working with children and young people

The idea for a playful approach to the topics of exercise and nutrition came to Albrecht during her first stints as a teacher. “Children sit a lot. Both at home and at school,” says the founder. She also grew up with anime herself and wanted to pass this enthusiasm on to the next generation.

For Albrecht, it is a logical step not to condemn the smartphone, but to use it as a medium for conveying the joy of movement. “Ultimately, we have to meet young people where they are,” she says. After all, video games can no longer be ignored and gaming is a natural need for all people. That’s why Albrecht wants to launch a sensible product on the market without the risk of addiction and without spending too long in front of the screen.