Robot Pepper can tell jokes, show sympathy, lean in towards the runner and change eye colour to express emotion.
Scientists have developed a robot personal trainer to coach runners through an exercise programme on the treadmill.
Humanoid robot Pepper can tell jokes, show sympathy, lean in towards the runner and change eye colour to express different emotions.
The support is personalised based on the gym-goer’s heart rate, speed, personality type, mood and fitness level.
Pepper gained its social intelligence by being trained by a human fitness instructor on how to be an encouraging coach.
It learned when to offer praise during a workout and the cues that can motivate a runner to improve performance.
The robot was developed as part of a study led by human-robot interaction experts from Bristol Robotics Laboratory.
As part of the research, 10 people participated in sessions with the robot in a gym at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol).
The group, aged between their 20s and 60s, attended three times per week for three months and were guided through the NHS Couch to 5K programme.
Human-robot interaction expert Katie Winkle said: “We wanted to test if we could transfer the intelligence of our fitness instructor, an expert with the know-how to get the best out of clients, into a robot so it could become an effective personal coach.
“We aimed to create an engaging motivational companion to get our runners through Couch to 5k, which is quite a long and drawn out exercise programme.”
Participants received guidance from two different versions of the robot.
The first was pre-programmed and gave standard instructions every 30 seconds based on the runner’s performance.
The second was a bespoke form of the robot that had been given input from a UWE Bristol fitness instructor.
Pepper observed the fitness instructor motivating runners and replicated his behaviours.
Results showed runners preferred engaging with the socially intelligent, human-like robot and performed better with it.
Miss Winkle said: “Understandably, they weren’t sure what to expect and when they started it was a bit of novelty.
“Some were energised by the robot and pushed themselves more than normal, and our fitness instructor was impressed with what the robot had learned to do.
“As time wore on, the participants began to treat the robot as a companion and the fitness instructor saw the robot as a colleague.
“This is really promising when we think about how robots might be used in the workplace in the future to work alongside humans.”
Researchers say the study was the first of its kind to feature significant participation from a human expert in a field.
The UWE fitness instructor was involved in designing Pepper’s actions, teaching it and then assisting with evaluation.
It is also rare for a research project to involve people interacting with a robot consistently over such a long time, the researchers say.
Dr Severin Lemaignan, senior research fellow at Bristol Robotics Laboratory, said: “Our work shows a robot could be really useful in the gym, especially for people who would perhaps feel embarrassed with a human personal trainer.
“It’s great to see the robot was considered a colleague by our gym coach: the robot helps provide better support to the gym clients; he doesn’t see it as a threat to his role.
“More widely, the study demonstrated the potential for robots to be useful and effective in the real world, with many potential applications.”
Bristol Robotics Laboratory is a collaborative partnership between UWE Bristol and the University of Bristol.
NEW YORK (AP) — Gov. Kathy Hochul won't immediately remove New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office, but will instead push for increased oversight of City Hall as he faces intense scrutiny over his bribery case and his relationship with the Trump administration.
Hochul announced Thursday that she has, for now, decided against using her authority to remove Adams over concerns that such a move could result in “disruption and chaos” and would ultimately be undemocratic.
“New York is facing a grave threat from Washington," she said at a news conference in Manhattan. "The Trump administration is already trying to use the legal jeopardy facing our mayor as leverage to squeeze and punish our city.”
The decision came after she solicited opinions this week from a roster of New York political figures over questions about whether Adams could independently govern following the Justice Department’s move to drop his federal corruption case so he could help with Republican President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.
Rather than remove Adams, Hochul said she would propose legislation to install new guardrails around City Hall to begin “reestablishing trust” with the public.
Her plan would establish a new deputy inspector general for New York City and provide additional funding for the state comptroller to probe city finances. Hochul also wants to create an explicit mechanism for the city’s comptroller, public advocate and council speaker to launch lawsuits against the federal government.
The measures, if approved by state lawmakers, would expire at the end of 2025 when Adams' first term finishes and be subject to future renewal, she said.
In a statement after the governor's announcement, Adams said, “While there is no legal basis for limiting New Yorkers’ power by limiting the authority of my office, I have told the governor, as we have done in the past, that I am willing to work with her to ensure faith in our government is strong.”
Hochul — a centrist Democrat, as is Adams — has faced questions about the mayor's future since his indictment in September on bribery and other charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
Hochul has been reluctant to oust him, arguing that doing so would be undemocratic and would thrust the city into a complex, court-like removal process that has never been used before against a sitting mayor in the city.
But after four of Adams’ top deputies quit on Monday, the governor said she had “serious questions about the long-term future of this mayoral administration.”
Asked Thursday if the mayor had done anything to restore her confidence, Hochul said she was confident that her “system of checks” would provide adequate oversight into the city’s budgetary, investigatory and legal matters. And she repeatedly left open the door to using her removal powers in the future.
The deputies resigned after an extraordinary series of developments in Adams’ federal criminal case.
First, Justice Department leaders ordered prosecutors to drop it, saying it was impeding the mayor’s ability to help with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement push.
Then, some prosecutors and supervisors resigned rather than follow what they saw as an improper order, and the acting top prosecutor in Manhattan said Adams’ lawyers had offered to exchange his cooperation on immigration for a dismissal of his case. The mayor and his lead lawyer said they did no such thing.
Then, after some Justice Department figures finally filed paperwork to get the case dismissed, a judge summoned Adams and everyone else involved to court Wednesday to discuss the matter. The judge hasn’t ruled yet on the government’s request to close out the case.
Adams has been set to go on trial in April on charges of taking illegal campaign contributions and getting breaks on travel in exchange for doing favors for the Turkish government.
New York mayors have both worked and tussled with state oversight, with the city having to submit its financial plans to a state-created board for review since a 1975 fiscal crisis.
But while the city has dealt with plenty of state input over the years, New York Law School professor Stephen Louis said it’s difficult to gauge the potential impact of Hochul’s proposals.
“It’s hard to say, ‘Oh, if any of these had been in place, then whatever problem is perceived wouldn’t be happening,’” said Louis, a former longtime New York City government attorney who now teaches about the legal relations between state and local governments.
“There are plenty of people who can examine what’s going on in the mayor’s office. There are people who can sue the federal government. So it’s not really clear how this solves anything,” he said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks at an event at the NYPD's 40th precinct, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams attends an event at the NYPD's 40th precinct, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams attends an event at the NYPD's 40th precinct, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams attends an event at NYPD's 40th precinct, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams attends an event at NYPD's 40th precinct, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams attends an event at NYPD's 40th precinct, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams attends an event at NYPD's 40th precinct, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams attends an event at NYPD's 40th precinct, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams attends an event at the NYPD's 40th precinct, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams attends an event at NYPD's 40th precinct, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams attends an event at the NYPD's 40th precinct, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams attends an event at the NYPD's 40th precinct, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
FILE — New York mayor Eric Adams, right, and New York governor Kathy Hochul attend a ceremony in honor of the New York Liberty's WNBA championship at City Hall in New York, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
