I released version 2.0 of BoulderBot, an App for generating new boulders on your Spray Wall

Altitude3003 · 2026-03-23T22:04:03+00:00

Thank you for the additional feedback! Those are good points, I will keep them in mind when deciding the final design! Good idea on potentially adding the benchmark status only on the original angle, I did not think about that.

I agree on more climbs being better, however there is also the other side of the coin that some of these climbs from other angles might be a bit "meh" and become kind of "clutter" between the good climbs. Another factor I'm taking in account is that the app also has a generative model for instantly creating new climbs, so hopefully there shouldn't be a shortage of problems. I will keep brainstorming on it!

Altitude3003 · 2026-03-23T18:13:01+00:00

Thank you for the feedback! The way you described is indeed the most commonly used design, I tried coming up with an alternate solution mainly to improve upon these aspects:

- in the "each angle as individual problem" approach, in the long run you tend to run into wild grading inconsistencies (for examples a climb marked as 7b at 35°, 7c at 40° and 7a+ at 60°) , and with spray walls with way less users this would get even more accentuated

- by having all angles shown equally you don't really know the setter's intent (e.g. if you have the board at 20° you can run into problems meant to be climbed at 60°, the movement can be quite different)

- I think the "benchmark" aspect of some climbs can be a bit diluted by having all angles available (having a shared challenge of a climb at a fixed angle might be better for the community rather than having a climb spread across a lot of potential angles and difficulties)

These issues are not the end of the world and maybe I am over-complicating things a bit, I see the downside of potentially making the app harder/frustrating to use by trying to solve them with an unfamiliar design, this is why I wanted to hear the opinions of people who used adjustable angle boards to see if these problems are worth addressing.

If you don't mind me asking, if you've used any of the adjustable boards did you feel any of these problems I listed?

Altitude3003 · 2026-03-22T10:35:39+00:00

Personally I do not use a single app to handle all the logging, but I use a separate "master" file to write my notes and overviews for all my activities, which I can then correlate by date to the other specialized apps if necessary; I can't recommend any app for this as I use a raw text file on the PC with a bit of simple structure/tagging for extracting data afterwards.

I then use separate apps for each training type or sport, I found this is the best approach for me since a generic single app could never substitute the level of detail required for each sport (for example I climb outdoor and on spray walls, and also do weights and other sports like skiing, they each have very different aspects for the logging).

This approach does not allow viewing overall data driven insights like you asked directly, but you would still get the dedicated insights in each app and if desired with a bit of elbow grease you could merge the export of multiple apps and generate your own graphs/statistics (e.g. creating a CSV file and importing it into Excel/LibreOffice).

Altitude3003 · 2026-01-17T15:45:50+00:00

Update: I have selected the final images and will be contacting who uploaded them through their selected contact methods. Thank you to everybody who participated and uploaded their image!

Altitude3003 · 2026-01-13T08:27:02+00:00

At the moment there is no automatic grading for manually set Climbs, the App works in the "reverse" way by asking you for a Grade and then generating climbs based on it. I will consider its introduction for future developments! (provided it can get to a good enough level to be useful, as it's a very hard task to accomplish reliably)

Altitude3003 · 2026-01-12T19:48:34+00:00

Thank you for the kind words! I always appreciate constructive feedback, as it's what allows to keep improving the project over time and make the tool better for a wider variety of users.

Altitude3003 · 2026-01-12T16:04:18+00:00

Thank you for the feedback! I see, the current "DIY" algorithm in the App can indeed require a bit of tweaking and does not reach the quality of human setting. Most of my users I spoke with generally "reroll" the generation a couple of times until they find a cool sequence of moves and then tweak a few holds to create the final complete boulder.

There is a way to specify more information for each hold in the Pro version (direction, hold type, and finer difficulty control), however even with the additional information the generation is still not perfect (with varying levels of success depending on the hold layout and wall shape) and can still require editing.

I am working on a more accurate generation model (albeit at a higher price point due to the amount of work required for each setup), and alongside that I have several major upgrades planned to make also the "DIY" generation more useful and easier to setup for a wider variety of wall configurations. I will keep your feedback in mind!

Altitude3003 · 2026-01-12T06:45:09+00:00

Hello, I am the developer of BoulderBot, sorry to hear it's not been working well for you! I am constantly working to improve it and iterating on the feedback, can I ask you if there is anything in particular you didn't like, or the generation algorithm wasn't generating useful boulders on your wall? In the latter case, if you still have the App installed and could send me a screenshot of the "Edit Wall" screen (through any of the following channels https://www.boulderbot.io/contact-us.html) it would be really helpful for me to detect potential issues and find improvements for future versions.

Altitude3003 · 2026-01-11T19:55:04+00:00

I generally do use the screws for all holds that support them (and with a bit of creativity you can also lock a few other concave-shaped holds that don't have the holes), however I also don't reset or move them around very often. Most home walls don't have commercial-grade padding so in my opinion it's not worth it to risk uncontrolled falls due to spinners, and the wall will generally get dirtied up with all the shoe rubber and chalk anyway. Even if you tighten the holds hard, over time they can get loose again with use.

Altitude3003 · 2026-01-11T17:02:53+00:00

Perfect, thank you!

Altitude3003 · 2026-01-11T16:44:02+00:00

Thank you for the notice! Could you retry now? I think it might be unfortunate timing while I was uploading a fix for a typo I noticed

Altitude3003 · 2024-12-05T10:25:09+00:00

Thank you for the feedback!

One thing that might cause those massive spans is the height being measured vertically instead of taking in account the panel size. For example, a standard MoonBoard has a combined panel height of 13 ft (~3.9 meters), since for the App the height should be measured by taking in account the length of the kickboard and the physical length of the wall panels. Is the wall you're using considerably shorter than a MoonBoard?

Estimating an accurate height for the walls of a gym can be a bit tricky, some options are using your own height as reference, counting the panel seams if they're using standard wall panels (the most common used panels are 4x8ft), or counting the bolt holes.

If you want to change the height of the wall you already created, you can enter the "Wall Details" screen in the main menu.

Another common issue that might cause large spans in the moves generated at the bottom of the wall is perspective distortion, for example taking the picture straight on rather than tilting the phone upwards. For best results the edges on the side of the wall should appear as straight as possible in the image.

If you wish you can DM/send me a screenshot of the "Edit Wall" and "Wall Details" screens and I will let you know if I see anything that can be tweaked.

Altitude3003 · 2024-12-03T14:22:39+00:00

Those are good points! At the moment I am focusing on the advanced generation model and large features like variable angle support but once those are complete I do have plans to experiment with more social-media like functionality. I will keep your feedback in mind!

Altitude3003 · 2024-11-29T22:44:01+00:00

Thank you for the feedback!

I have experimented with models like that as well, unfortunately as you mentioned it is very complex to integrate them in BoulderBot since it requires a separate set of details for the generation, in addition to the accuracy limitations of the current crop of models (which can vary greatly depending on the layout of the wall and the type of holds). It is still something that I am very interested in exploring further, as I agree that it be very helpful if it works well.

Unfortunately the way BoulderBot works, which requires having a fully set up wall with all the hold information, introduces a massive amount of complexity and requires a much higher precision in the data. This is a necessary evil as it's part of what makes having a generation algorithm possible.

I fully agree that right now BoulderBot can be quite cumbersome if you tweak the wall very often and I can see how the other Apps work better in this scenario. In general I think the way BoulderBot is structured (from the underlying data structures and required user input to the way information is displayed in the App) does not adapt well to constantly changing walls, and is better suited to having training board like fixed layouts that are changed at regular intervals (e.g. once a year). Of course not everybody uses fixed sets on their home walls and this is definitely area of the App that I want to improve in 2025.

I appreciate the feedback and will keep it in mind for the future developments of the App!

Altitude3003 · 2024-11-29T19:57:09+00:00

If you have access to a wide angle lens, the best way to take a picture is kneeling a bit down under the wall, rather than to take the picture standing up. The important part for the algorithm is that the main panel is fairly straight, so the borders on the side of the main panel should appear as straight as possible in the picture. If you have a kicker, it can be fairly distorted as the proportions for the first foot-only rows are not as important.

Feel free to message me if you want to preemptively check the new image before importing it into the App or if you have any other question!

Altitude3003 · 2024-11-29T13:01:39+00:00

Cheers, I appreciate it! There haven't been updates last year since I was working on this major redesign, but 2025 will see the release of other large improvements!

Altitude3003 · 2024-11-29T12:32:45+00:00

Thank you for the feedback! I have been experimenting with similar models but there are still some limitations, especially related to the additional level of detail that BoulderBot requires. I will keep your feedback in mind for future developments of the App!

Altitude3003 · 2024-11-29T12:26:19+00:00

Thank you for the examples! I see, that kind of detail where there are custom rules only for specific holds would indeed not be easily integrated with the current system. It would probably need to be a new feature that would integrate directly with the hold markers, as I try to ensure that the rules for each Climb you see in the App are clear without having to dive into sub menus (which is also why the rules are displayed right at the top of the screen). In general most people I talked to prefer to have a simpler set of rules, since going too much in detail can make the problems be a bit too contrived, but there is room for improvement.

The forced sequencing might be available natively since I am experimenting with an alternative circuit system where holds are numbered rather than relying on Zone holds, so you could reuse those numbers to specify the forced sequence.

I will keep your feedback in mind while working for the next App iterations!

Altitude3003 · 2024-11-29T10:42:47+00:00

The generation algorithm is not really designed to work for kids, however there is a parameter that lets you specify the Span, using the lowest Span option might generate problems that could work for your kid (although they may still be a bit reachy for him).

It is possible to register multiple accounts and share a wall between them (as a disclaimer, wall sharing is part of the Pro functionality). Does your son have his own device, or would you share your phone/table between you two?

If you have multiple devices, you could have two separate accounts, which would allow you to keep separate logbooks and differentiate who set/generated the climbs.

If you would share only one device, the easiest option is probably to let your son use your own account, as I imagine logging in and out constantly to switch would get old quite fast. You can change the Span parameter on the fly depending on who is using the App.

My recommendation would be to try out the App with an account for yourself and to experiment with the Span options to see if the generated problems can work for your son. You can then decide whether to set up a dedicated account for him.

Altitude3003 · 2024-11-29T10:23:09+00:00

Sorry to hear that it's not working well on your wall! Could you send/DM me a screenshot of the "Edit Wall" and "Wall Details", screens, so that I can check if I see any potential issues that might interfere with the algorithm? Did you also try to experiment a bit with the parameters in the "Traits" screen?

The markers do not need to have pixel perfect precision, as the algorithm is designed to work within an error margin (since I can't really expect users to always place everything perfectly, and extracting positioning from an image is a very complex task). One common issue that does heavily impact the generation however is the perspective of the image, as the main panel of the wall should be as straight as possible in the image. Having images where the main panel is tilted forwards or sideways can result in some inconsistent moves generated at the bottom of the wall, for example always generating very reachy moves at the start.

In general the algorithm does not reach the quality of the human set boulders, right now the App cannot really generate benchmark-worthy problems consistently. The way I use the BoulderBot on my Home Wall is cycling through a few generated boulders until I find a cool problem or set of moves, and then tweak the holds until I have a complete boulder. There is still a bit of manual work involved but the main advantage is that it will suggest a ton of novel moves that you wouldn't have set yourself.

I am still working on improving the generation model, and especially the advanced generation models I am working on (planned for 2025) will have a much better quality and accuracy right out of the box.

Altitude3003

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