A small, palm sized, robot has finished what few humans have, the Ironman Triathlon.
The Evolta robot crossed the finish line on October 30, 2011 at 10:56am. The race consists of running, bicycling, and swimming near Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. A time limit of 168 hours was placed on the Evolta robot, and it came in almost splitting hairs at 166 hour and 56 minutes. Evolta did it all with 3 rechargable "EVOLTA AA" batteries, while only taking periodic breaks to recharge the cells. A testament to the battery's capability?
According to the official records from the Ironman competition and the Evolta team, the progress went as follows:
● EVOLTA Swim Robot finished the 3.8km swim in 5hours and 36 minutes at 5:36pm on October 23.
● EVOLTA Bike Robot finished biking 180.2km in 97 hours and 42 minutes at 7:19pm on October 27.
● EVOLTA Run Robot finished the 42.2km run in 63 hours and 38 minutes at 10:56am on October 30.
Evolta creator, Robo-Garage founder, and University of Tokyo Professor Tomotaka Takahashi was at the competition during the whole race. At the goal ceremony, he said:
"We are happy to have made it to the finish line. I want to thank everyone, every member of the crew and the people of Hawaii. These days, robots are evolving rapidly due to the technological evolution of batteries and various other devices. I believe Panasonic EVOLTA batteries, and this challenge have turned a new page in history for the robot industry."
Also, 166 hours is about a week's time. How would you like to have spent seven days in Hawaii following a robot around?
Eavesdropper