A tiny Japanese robot is going to enter Hawaii's grueling Ironman Triathlon course. Fitted with three different bodies and three rechargeable batteries, the hand-sized "Evolta" will swim, bicycle and run its way through one of the world's toughest triathlon routes.
The robot is made by Panasonic and will have to swim, run and bike for a total of approximately 230 km. The time given to complete the task is a week or 168 hours, which is ten times longer than it would take a sportsman.
To be fair Evolta is a tenth of a grown man so it will seem an even bigger job. The batteries the robot bears on its back, which go on sale in Japan on Oct 21, can be recharged up to 1,800 times by being placed on a recharger pad.
The triathlon challenge begins on Oct 24 and will continue non-stop for seven days and nights. The actual Ironman World Championship takes place in early October.
In the lead up to the competition Evolta has also walked the 500 km from Tokyo to the old Japanese capital of Kyoto.
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Nick Farell
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