Meet the Robo Coach
By analysing how you move, the Proteus Motion machine promises to transform the way you work out. MH met its creator, Sam Miller, the human intelligence behind the smartest AI in fitness
The gym doesn’t come with an instruction manual. That’s why you might hire a personal trainer, who will take you through a lengthy assessment to discern your muscle imbalances, then build you a workout to address your weaknesses and help you to reach your goals.
But if Sam Miller has his way, you’ll know exactly how to navigate your gym after just four minutes with his AI-powered Proteus Motion. In that time, the machine – with its rotating, retractable arm – can put you through a 17-move assessment that yields a data-laden, full-body analysis, complete with notes on muscle imbalances and comparisons with similar athletes in your age group. These results can be used to map out a workout plan. “This is a whole system that is designed to strengthen and optimise movement patterns,” says Miller.
Proteus does it with a blend of sensors and
magnetic brakes, offering consistent, natural-feeling resistance that challenges key muscles in complex motions. It’s the product of two generations. Miller’s father, Larry, then a visiting scientist at MIT, built a fitness and rehab hardware prototype in the 1990s that would later inspire his son’s work. In 2015, Miller and a small team built the first Proteus models; two years later, they partnered with New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery to validate the machine’s effectiveness. Its assessment found that Proteus can produce up to 95% greater muscle activation compared with free weights or classic gym machines.
This will appeal most to professional athletes, but Miller believes that his machine has major gym potential. The company hopes to expand internationally next year, including introducing Proteus Motion to the UK. Soon, you could enter a gym clueless, spend minutes on Proteus and quickly have a workout plan.
Miller has seen it happen. Cressey Sports Performance in the US, run by strength coach Eric Cressey, does about 50 Proteus Motion assessments per month, and 30 athletes train with it per day. “We can deliver super-short and effective training sessions – and not necessarily with a trainer present,” says Miller. proteusmotion.com