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Robot To Slowly Run Ironman Triathlon Course

Posted by timothy on from the slow-and-steady-kills-the-humans dept.

itwbennett writes "A robot designed by Panasonic will be running the course of this year's Ironman World Championship triathlon next month. But don't expect it to win. The diminutive robot won't even be competing in the actual race. It will start the Ironman course Oct. 24 and finish in about a week (168 hours), according to its designer. 'Evolta's height is just one-tenth of a grown man, so we figured out that it would take it 10 times more time,' Panasonic design engineer Tomotaka Takahashi told Reuters."

13 of 71 comments (clear)

  1. Triathalon by camperdave · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As far as this "robot" is concerned, it is a toy. It needs floats to swim, training wheels on it's bicycle, and it runs in a hamster wheel. Heck, it's not even the same robot running the three legs of the Ironman! This has nothing to do with robotics. It is a publicity stunt for Panasonic's Evolta batteries.

    Regarding the Ironman triathalon. I agree with my brother. They should put the swimming last. It would be a different race if you either finish, or die trying.

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    1. Re:Triathalon by jfengel · · Score: 3, Informative

      As I'm sure you figured out, that's exactly why they put the swimming first. They watch you like a hawk, with literally hundreds of people out in boats and ski-doos. Having the swimming first means that they get it all over with at once, in a couple of hours, rather than having them be out there literally all day.

      Especially for the full-length Ironman, where the finalists don't finish until well after dark. Having to do the swim course in the dark would guarantee deaths.

  2. PSA: Parent link contains gaping ass by spazdor · · Score: 3, Insightful

    warning: goatse

    --
    DRM: Terminator crops for your mind!
    1. Re:PSA: Parent link contains gaping ass by Trepidity · · Score: 4, Funny

      Is it wrong that I find goatse to be a sort of comforting, nostalgic presence these days? Once it may have inspired revulsion, true. But now I think: ah, a familiar friend from the 1990s Web 1.0 internet! We have had our differences, sure, but at least we are not like those Web 3.0 types, eh? Perhaps we are even allies now? Wouldn't we all like to see the looks on their faces when a goatse link gets thrown into the social-media mix?

      --
      10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
    2. Re:PSA: Parent link contains gaping ass by spazdor · · Score: 2

      No, I feel the same way. I've long since hit the point of 'semantic saturation' with that image, so the visceral shock reaction is virtually gone. In its place is the knowledge that, out there, there are millions of people who played the same gross-each-other-out adolescent games as I did.

      I kind of miss the guy who posted the "brown rope" scat-porn stories about Pres. Obama too.

      --
      DRM: Terminator crops for your mind!
  3. Another bullshit story by oldhack · · Score: 2

    It's a stupid plastic toy robot.

    --
    Fuck systemd. Fuck Redhat. Fuck Soylent, too. Wait, scratch the last one.
  4. Weird logic by Rob+Kaper · · Score: 3, Insightful

    They should build a robot 120 times taller than a human. It could run a marathon in a minute, or LA-NY in an hour and a half.

  5. From a triathlete's perspective by jockeys · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is interesting. It's not surprising that the triathlon boards are on fire about this today, mostly with triathletes (on average, very type-A and way too competitive) concerned about the robot breaking a variety of rules:

    1. it doesn't wear a helmet out of T1 and continuing into T2. Result: DQ
    2. it doesn't have a chinstrap to keep buckled. Result: DQ on the bike, time penalty in T1 or T2
    3. it will be receiving outside assistance from people other than sanctioned volunteers or medics. Result: time penalty
    4. if it has any open tubing it is potentially violating the no open bar-end rule. Result: time penalty
    5. if it drafts off anyone on the bike leg, it will be penalized and called out on internet forums as a cheater and a sissy
    6. headphones and personal audio devices are banned, if this thing can play an MP3, it's not allowed on the course
    7. depending on water temperature, it may not be allowed to wear a wetsuit
    8. if it drops batteries or parts on the course it is guilty of equipment abandonment. Result: time penalty
    9. if it doesn't finish in 17 hours, it absolutely doesn't count.
    10. finally, it must have a valid USAT license or risk being banned from the sport.

    Disclaimer: this is a bizarre inside joke for triathletes, don't take it seriously.

    --

    In Soviet Russia jokes are formulaic and decidedly non-humorous.
  6. Metric by pjt33 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Thanks for converting the Imperial "a week" into "168 hours" for us metric users. Weeks are, after all, even more obscure units than hogsheads.

    1. Re:Metric by bernywork · · Score: 2

      Now you bring in hogsheads?!!?! I was still trying to get my head around Libraries Of Congress and velocity of sheep in a vacuum....

      This was originally covered by thereg in 2005:

      http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/24/vulture_central_standards/

      Updated in 2007:

      http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/28/additional_reg_standards/

      And again in 2010 it seems by the BBC:

      http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/08/10/dollar_coins/

      Yes, this is all UK centric, but it's amusing anyway,

      --
      Curiosity was framed; ignorance killed the cat. -- Author unknown
  7. Running or walking? by sjbe · · Score: 3, Interesting

    In order to actually be running the robot will have to actually leave the ground between steps. Otherwise it is walking. So is it going to walk the course or run the course?

  8. Small Animals by Nom+du+Keyboard · · Score: 2

    Does this mean that small animals one-tenth my size are easy to catch because they run so slowly too?

    --
    "It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
  9. Win! by russotto · · Score: 2

    In a bizarre twist, despite it's obscenely poor time, the robot was declared the winner of the Ironman triathlon, as it was the only iron man who entered.