automata

Can this robot coach help you lose weight?

Can the merciless resolve of a robot overlord help you shed pounds? A Hong Kong startup is hoping dieters are willing to pony up for a $960 droid instead of just using an app.

Intuitive Automata is accepting orders for Autom, its cute robot weight-loss helper that has long been in development.

The 15-inch talking droid has an LCD touch screen. Users enter data on calories they consume and the exercise they do each day. The robot responds with customized advice and encouragement, and can download new speech patterns from the Internet so the chatter doesn't get too dull.

Developer Cory Kidd says that many dieters have tried phone- or Web-based apps to get rid of excess weight, but there's a "psychological difference" in using a machine with a head, blinking eyes, and body.

Perhaps Autom's face-tracking function and big blue eyes will make users feel guilty about sneaking that pizza slice between meals. Kidd refers to Autom with female pronouns, and says "she" doesn't scold users.

A study by Kidd compared 45 dieters in the Boston area and monitored their calories and exercise by computer, on paper, or with Autom. The results showed the robot helped people stick to their diets for nearly twice as long as the other tracking methods. … Read more

Can't stick to that diet? Get a robot coach

You say you've tried every diet fad but still can't lose the flab. Maybe your will is as soft as your one-pack. Perhaps only the merciless resolve of an inhuman coach can whip you into shape.

Lucky for you, a Hong Kong-based start-up is preparing to release Autom, a robot diet mentor with a deceptively pleasant demeanor.

Users can talk with the 15-inch-tall Autom and, by using its LCD touch screen, indicate what they've had to eat and how long they've exercised on a given day. The machine, which is linked to the Internet, is designed … Read more

DIY video synthesizer looks and sounds like your busted Atari

Make magazine--purveyor of awesome and amusing DIY projects and kits--has added a new product to its online store -- the Cellular Automata video synthesizer kit. It may look like a hippie guitar pedal, but actually it creates endearingly retro (but mostly annoying) audio and video akin to an Atari 2600 meltdown. The kit offers RCA audio and video outputs, costs $50, and is mostly preassembled. You will have to find your own enclosure (the rainbow-colored wooden box is only a suggestion) and solder on the knobs and a reset button.

The video synthesizer works off a mathematical idea called … Read more