Hong Kong-based Intuitive Automata has developed a robot designed to help individuals combat obesity, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The company hopes to launch the product in the U.S. next year after completing a pilot program with an undisclosed insurance company.
The robot, known as Autom, sits on the countertop and holds daily "conversations" with the user. The conversations are formulated after users input information about their diet and exercise regimen.
Autom also uses social cues -- such as blinking its eyes and turning its head -- to seem more lifelike.
According to Intuitive Automata research, users adhere to their diets longer when using Autom.
Company programmers currently are working to enhance Autom's speech and facial-recognition software and to expand its conversation range to include chronic diseases like Type II diabetes (Veach, Wall Street Journal, 7/20).