A Multi-Dimensional Comparative Study of Exercise Psychological Experience Under AI Fitness Companion and Human Coach Paradigms

Summary

This study conducted a comparative analysis of subjective exercise experiences between an AI-based fitness companion and traditional human coaching among 98 university students participating in a standardized 20-minute functional circuit training session. Participants were evaluated across three psychological dimensions: Emotional Resonance (ER), Interactive Dynamics (InD), and Embodied Presence (EP). The results indicated that human coaching elicited significantly higher levels of Emotional Resonance, whereas AI-based companions demonstrated superior performance in Interactive Dynamics. No significant differences were observed in Embodied Presence, suggesting that contemporary AI systems can provide spatial immersion and body-awareness comparable to human coaches. These findings indicate that AI and human coaches offer distinct psychological strengths, suggesting that AI should be viewed as a complementary, scalable tool for exercise guidance rather than a direct replacement for human emotional support.

Conditions

• Psychological Stress
• Mental Fatigue
• Cognitive Dysfunction
• Emotional Well-being

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

AI-Based Companion

The intervention for the AI-Based Companion group involved interacting with the BodyPark ATOM system (BodyPark Inc., Hong Kong, China), a portable AI fitness companion device. This device is equipped with a $160\^{\\circ}$ ultra-wide camera and features real-time motion analysis capabilities. During the 20-minute functional circuit training session, the system served as the digital coaching interface, providing automated real-time recognition of the targeted movements, verbal encouragement, and posture corrections.

BEHAVIORAL

Human-Coached

Participants in the Human-Coached Group were supervised and instructed by human coaches, which included several co-authors of the study. These researchers are professionals who hold national- or international-level certifications as sports coaches or referees, or who serve as professors in the field of physical education. Throughout the circuit training, they provided verbal assistance and guidance using instructional terminology and feedback that was structurally equivalent to the parameters of the AI protocol to ensure experimental consistency.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Wuhan University of Technology

  collaborator OTHER

• Wuhan Sports University

  collaborator OTHER

• Lincoln University College

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

30 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-06-01

Primary Completion

2026-07-01

Completion

2026-07-01

Countries

• China

Study Locations