Posted Nov 22nd 2009 3:01PM by Amar Toor

Filed under: Computers

With the holiday season just coming into full swing, everyone's gonna be looking for new ways to shed that extra turkey tummy that we'll inevitably be accumulating pretty soon. And though personal trainers may be a popular choice among a certain demographic, why spend hours with an actual human being when you can spend quality time with your own robotic workout coach?

USC's Viterbi School of Engineering has designed a robot named Bandit that can do just that (video after the break). Unlike most personal trainers, Bandit's not there just to make you feel fat -- he can actually lead you through your exercise routine and even watch you to mimic your every move (see the video below). But, like most personal trainers, Bandit can also be sort of a jerk. He'll drop the occasional sarcastic remark about how much fun it is to sit and watch you work out in a chair, and wax poetic about how great it is to work up a sweat with you (full disclosure: he's not actually sweating).
We think it might be a little humiliating to have a robot leading our daily workout (isn't exercise robotic enough as it is?). But then again, Bandit may be an appealing alternative to some other methods. [From: DVICE]

Tags: robots, top