In this OZY original series, meet the Robots of Tomorrow that’ll transform everything from where you work to how you work out.

Will they improve our efficiency and relieve us from mundane tasks? Or will they replace us and take our jobs? For decades, these questions have framed the debate over robots. Today, with the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence surging ahead faster than ever before, we know that the answers to those questions are more complex than a simple yes or no. Robots can improve efficiency and replace us. They can relieve us from mundane jobs and also injure or kill us.

From self-driving cars and autonomous weapon systems to customer service bots and apps that take the edge off of loneliness, automation is a reality playing out all around us. But what’s next?

OZY’s latest original series, “Robots of Tomorrow,” explores the future of automation. From office spaces that come to you and machines that take care of your pets to automated waiters in poor nations and workout machines that double as fitness trainers, we’ll bring you stories that will prepare you for the ways in which robots will affect your life next. We’ll also tell you how robots can help you move your money in financial markets faster.

Machines and apps that design personalized workouts, motivate and test you are emerging as the next big leap in fitness.

You’re running on the treadmill when the trainer tells you that you need to speed up. As you’re cooling down after your workout, the trainer designs your routine for the next day. You did well, it tells you. Yes, you read that right. The trainer isn’t a human. It’s an artificial intelligence-driven platform that gleans what your body needs and what it’s capable of, and then designs your workouts and oversees your routines, even offering motivation when you need it.

This isn’t science fiction. For years, fitness enthusiasts looking for at-home routines suited to their needs and convenience have had to rely on personal trainers who make house calls. But these trainers aren’t affordable for most — the national average for a one-hour personal training session is between $80 at the gym and $120 at home. Now, a growing number of fitness firms are turning to AI to offer affordable, personalized training at home, relying on technological advances unavailable at the start of the decade. They’re tapping into an already lucrative fitness equipment market that’s expected to reach $12 billion by 2022 globally. In the last five years, the personal training industry in the U.S. has grown to an estimated revenue of $9 billion for 2019, according to market research firm IBIS World.

Former British paragliding champ Adrian Thomas is behind some of the most thrilling, and unsettling, tech out there.

Imagine yourself in a war zone — perhaps you’re hiding in a forest, or taking cover in a ruined building. Suddenly you hear flapping wings and a buzzing sound that’s getting closer. Today, it’s probably just an insect. But in the future, it might mean you have just been detected.

Unmanned drones have been around for quite some time. For most of that time, they have looked and worked like traditional aircraft and helicopters, but that may be about to change. Animal Dynamics, a British startup spinoff from Oxford University, produces biologically inspired vehicles and drones — including the dragonfly-inspired “Skeeter,” a drone the size of a pen intended for military reconnaissance.

The brain behind this bug look-alike is a former British paragliding champion named Adrian Thomas. “I’m a bit competitive,” says the 56-year-old Oxford professor, laughing. “And I have always been obsessed with flight. So I guess that explains many of the things I did in my life.”