Psychological StressNCT07690553
A Multi-Dimensional Comparative Study of Exercise Psychological Experience Under AI Fitness Companion and Human Coach Paradigms
A study testing AI-Based Companion and Human-Coached in people with Psychological Stress and Mental Fatigue, run by Lincoln University College at 1 site in China.
Trial 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. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 30 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Psychological Stress, Mental Fatigue, Cognitive Dysfunction
- What is being tested?
- AI-Based Companion and Human-Coached
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 100 participants
- Where
- 1 siteChina
- Study dates
- 1 Jun 2026to 1 Jul 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 30 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Body Composition: Participants needed to have a body fat percentage between 15% and 25% for males, and between 20% and 30% for females.
- Physical Capability: Participants were required to be physically capable of performing the designated bodyweight fitness movements, which included squats, lunges, and planks.
Who cannot join
- Physical Health: Individuals with musculoskeletal injuries or acute physical conditions that would prevent the safe performance of standard bodyweight exercises were excluded.
- Psychological Status: Individuals with a history of severe discomfort or diagnosed anxiety related to one-on-one fitness coaching or digital monitoring were excluded.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
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.
- Being tested
- AI-Based Companion, Human-Coached
- Medical subject headings
- Stress, Psychological, Mental Fatigue, Cognitive Dysfunction
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
AI-Based CompanionBehavioural
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.
Human-CoachedBehavioural
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.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| AI-Based Companion Group | Experimental | Not described Receives: Behavioral: AI-Based Companion |
| Human-Coached Group | Active comparator | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Human-Coached |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Emotional Resonance (ER)
Emotional Resonance (ER) measures the extent to which participants perceive empathy, encouragement, and emotional companionship during their exercise session. This dimension evaluates the responsiveness of the coach or system to signs of participant exhaustion or form breakdown, as well as the perceived sincerity of the feedback provided, which helps to alleviate exercise-related boredom or anxiety. Theoretically, it is grounded in parasocial interaction and social presence theories, suggesting that users naturally attribute social characteristics to interactive entities, fulfilling fundamental psychological needs for relatedness and competence.
Measured: The psychological questionnaire assessing Emotional Resonance was administered to participants immediately upon completion of the 20-minute functional circuit training session.
Interactive Dynamics (InD)
Interactive Dynamics (InD) represents the responsiveness, bidirectional communication, and real-time adaptability of the interaction process between the participant and the coach or system. It evaluates the fluidity of the communication loop, including the speed of movement correction, the naturalness of the exchange, and the system's ability to dynamically adjust guidance based on real-time performance. This construct is derived from human-computer interaction (HCI) theories, emphasizing that a seamless, low-latency feedback loop is essential for maintaining motor-cognitive immersion and optimizing exercise strategies.
Measured: The psychological questionnaire assessing Interactive Dynamics was administered to participants immediately upon completion of the 20-minute functional circuit training session.
Embodied Presence (EP)
Embodied Presence (EP) reflects the degree to which a participant perceives an instructing agent as occupying the same physical or virtual space, facilitating bodily awareness and spatial immersion. This dimension emphasizes spatial perception, physical occupancy, and proprioceptive mapping, allowing participants to intuitively map external postural cues (such as joint angles or body alignment) onto their own internal body schema. It is grounded in cognitive psychology and spatial cognition frameworks, measuring how well the instruction facilitates an intuitive spatial-motor translation.
Measured: The psychological questionnaire assessing Embodied Presence was administered to participants immediately upon completion of the 20-minute functional circuit training session.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted8 Jul 2026
- Study start1 Jun 2026
- Primary completion1 Jul 2026
- Study completion1 Jul 2026
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Psychological StressStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 100 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Lincoln University College
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan Sports University
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Linjun Liu, Lincoln University College
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07690553
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- WTU-TMB-260601
- Status last verified
- Jun 2026
- First submitted
- 1 Jul 2026
- Last updated
- 8 Jul 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: There is no plan to share individual participant data to protect the privacy of the participants and ensure data security.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 8 Jul 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- A Multi-Dimensional Comparative Study of Exercise Psychological Experience Under AI Fitness Companion and Human Coach Paradigms
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07690553
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- WTU-TMB-260601
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 100 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Lincoln University CollegeUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan Sports University
- Study start
- 1 Jun 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 1 Jul 2026 (actual)
- Study completion
- 1 Jul 2026 (actual)
- First posted
- 8 Jul 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
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.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| AI-Based Companion Group | Experimental | Behavioral: AI-Based Companion |
| Human-Coached Group | Active comparator | Behavioral: Human-Coached |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 30 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Body Composition: Participants needed to have a body fat percentage between 15% and 25% for males, and between 20% and 30% for females.
- Physical Capability: Participants were required to be physically capable of performing the designated bodyweight fitness movements, which included squats, lunges, and planks.
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Physical Health: Individuals with musculoskeletal injuries or acute physical conditions that would prevent the safe performance of standard bodyweight exercises were excluded.
- Psychological Status: Individuals with a history of severe discomfort or diagnosed anxiety related to one-on-one fitness coaching or digital monitoring were excluded.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| AI-Based CompanionThe 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. | Behavioural | AI-Based Companion Group |
| Human-CoachedParticipants 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. | Behavioural | Human-Coached Group |
Primary outcome
Emotional Resonance (ER)
Time frame: The psychological questionnaire assessing Emotional Resonance was administered to participants immediately upon completion of the 20-minute functional circuit training session.
Emotional Resonance (ER) measures the extent to which participants perceive empathy, encouragement, and emotional companionship during their exercise session. This dimension evaluates the responsiveness of the coach or system to signs of participant exhaustion or form breakdown, as well as the perceived sincerity of the feedback provided, which helps to alleviate exercise-related boredom or anxiety. Theoretically, it is grounded in parasocial interaction and social presence theories, suggesting that users naturally attribute social characteristics to interactive entities, fulfilling fundamental psychological needs for relatedness and competence.
Interactive Dynamics (InD)
Time frame: The psychological questionnaire assessing Interactive Dynamics was administered to participants immediately upon completion of the 20-minute functional circuit training session.
Interactive Dynamics (InD) represents the responsiveness, bidirectional communication, and real-time adaptability of the interaction process between the participant and the coach or system. It evaluates the fluidity of the communication loop, including the speed of movement correction, the naturalness of the exchange, and the system's ability to dynamically adjust guidance based on real-time performance. This construct is derived from human-computer interaction (HCI) theories, emphasizing that a seamless, low-latency feedback loop is essential for maintaining motor-cognitive immersion and optimizing exercise strategies.
Embodied Presence (EP)
Time frame: The psychological questionnaire assessing Embodied Presence was administered to participants immediately upon completion of the 20-minute functional circuit training session.
Embodied Presence (EP) reflects the degree to which a participant perceives an instructing agent as occupying the same physical or virtual space, facilitating bodily awareness and spatial immersion. This dimension emphasizes spatial perception, physical occupancy, and proprioceptive mapping, allowing participants to intuitively map external postural cues (such as joint angles or body alignment) onto their own internal body schema. It is grounded in cognitive psychology and spatial cognition frameworks, measuring how well the instruction facilitates an intuitive spatial-motor translation.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 8 Jul 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. There is no plan to share individual participant data to protect the privacy of the participants and ensure data security.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing AI-Based Companion and Human-Coached in people with Psychological Stress and Mental Fatigue, run by Lincoln University College at 1 site in China.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 8 Jul 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in China. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Emotional Resonance (ER) (time frame: The psychological questionnaire assessing Emotional Resonance was administered to participants immediately upon completion of the 20-minute functional circuit training session.). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 8 Jul 2026.