Slimmer-bot?
30 October 2007
Got a few extra pounds weighing you down? American scientists could have just the answer.
Antenna meets 'Autom', the world's first personal diet-coach robot, and finds out if it's a fat-fighter's new best friend...
Image: Sam Ogden
The British are the fattest people in Europe. Almost 2 million school children are overweight and 10 million adults are obese. Now a robot could help us slim to a healthier size.
Image: Stock.XCHNG/Geo Cristian
Image: Sam Ogden
Autom is a diet coach with a difference. Created by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), this sociable robot helps people keep track of how much they're eating and exercising, and gives them daily encouragement and advice. |
Image: Sam Ogden
Dieters touch a screen on the robot's torso to choose their weight-loss goals. Then it talks them through personalised tips based on their current food and exercise routine. |
Autom's inventors hope it will make dieting fun, encouraging people to stick to a healthy eating plan. And they're about to find out if their robot really works, as it's put through its paces in people's homes. So far, the results are looking good...
Image: Stock.XCHNG/Henning Buchholz
'Most of our robot testers have lost weight, although we don't have the full results in yet. Almost everyone seems to have enjoyed working with the robot and people are very reluctant to give them up!' says Cory Kidd from MIT, the inventor of Autom.
Cory Kidd, MIT
Image: Sam Ogden
But is Autom just a gimmick?
'We know that anything that encourages people to keep track of their diets really helps them to lose weight. Robot technology could work very well alongside other forms of nutritional information,' says Charlene Shoneye, a research dietician from Weight Concern.
Charlene Shoneye, Weight Concern
Image: Weight Concern