My Aibo Thinks I'm Fat

(Mis)Uses of Technology

from the robotic-feedback dept

Forget cute and needy virtual dogs. It’s time for the artificially intelligent dogs in your life to pull their weight… Or, actually, to push you about your weight. Some researchers have modified an Aibo to help fight obesity. The robotic dog would monitor your scale, how far you walk (thanks to a pedometer) and a daily food log you’re expected to keep — and then remind you that you’re fat. It’s an interesting gimmick, though, simply keeping the food log is probably much more likely to help someone lose weight than any of that added stuff. It’s the simple feedback mechanism of forcing someone to record what he or she eats that makes people more careful.