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People who want to get the
benefits of jogging -- without having to actually do it -- may soon be
able to have a robot be their pinch-hit jogger.
Sony Corporation has a mechanical creature it calls Qrio. Lazy American
joggers can't wait for it to come on the market.
Prof. John Stavis, head of the Department of Exercise Robotics at Congers
University, envisions many possibilities.
"For example, I foresee an effortless way to lose weight," Prof. Stavis
said. "Instead of cutting down on carbs, you simply determine how many
calories you want to burn today, and then tell the robot to do it while
you watch TV and gorge on munchies."
Sony denies plans to make Qrio available to consumers, yet the company
shows it off at every opportunity.
"I think they just want to build huge demand before placing it in stores,"
Stavis opined.
Already the medical community is going wild with anticipation. Doctors
have long been frustrated by the failure of their patients to get the
recommended amount of exercise. Now the patients can have a robot get
healthy for them.
Qrio will also solve the problem of patients who lie to their doctors
about how much exercising they do.
"The robot can easily be equipped with a pedometer telling doctors how
many steps it ran," Stavis says. "Doctors will know exactly how well their
patients are cooperating."
At first, manufacturers of treadmills were distressed by a potential loss
in sales if humans had their robots exercise for them. But then they
realized that sales might actually increase.
"We'll have a whole new market," said one executive, "selling treadmills
for robots to use when it's raining outside."
__________
Check out our previous article:
Bush proposes
tax
on dumb people
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