A huge benefit of hiring a personal trainer, fitness coach or clinical nutritionist is knowing they are there to keep you accountable.
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By talking about day-to-day progress and goals, clients are more likely to stick to a healthy lifestyle. For those who can't afford a trainer at the gym or a personal fitness coach, a robot named Autom with human-like expressions may be a welcomed alternative.
Autom is a know-it-all robot by Intuitive Automata that helps dieters track weight loss. The company, founded by CEO Cory D. Kidd, specializes in developing social robots for various applications in the health care industry.
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The Autom weight loss coach is designed to have daily conversations with users at home. She tracks calories, says motivational things, tells you about the latest weight loss trends and gives you personalized suggestions. She asks questions and you answer by selecting the most relevant answers on the touch screen. By developing an emotional bond with the robot, users are more likely to stick with healthy eating plans, the company states.
The robot also counts calories so you don't have to. She currently knows the calorie count in nearly 75,000 foods, including meals at popular restaurants. Since menus and listings change, Autom is set to automatically update monthly while connected to Wi-Fi. Autom is currently available for pre-order. The first Autom devices will be shipped in early 2013. The robot is $199 with a monthly subscription of $19.99.
Would you buy the Autom robot to help you lose weight and keep it off? Tell us in the comments.
This story originally published on Mashable here.