Puma Creates Robot That Can Keep Up With Human Athletes
Competing with a robot on the race track seems nothing short of PR embarrassment for human athletes. In an epic battle between man and machine, the race for complete dominance is the storyline behind Puma's self-driving robot that runs alongside athletes.
For some, it may be the best training tool yet. And if you're one of those lucky sports runners sponsored by footwear giant, Puma, its BeatBot training robot will help you train as it hits the track with you in a rolling shoebox with LED contraption. Don't underestimate it though. It is programmed to beat world record speeds and may even sprint as fast as the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt.
The German footwear company decided to go in for BeatBot by partnering with advertising firm J. Walter Thompson (JWT) New York plus a number of robotics expert to create visual nemesis on the track that would keep athletes reach record-breaking speeds.
"Everyone runs faster when there's something to beat, but how do you beat a record when you can't see it?" asks Puma in a promotional YouTube video for BeatBot.
With a robot partner to train, runners can have physical running target to chase down the track thereby giving them a real sense of competition even when training or doing routine workouts.
"We found a lot of anecdotal evidence that head to head competition raised performance levels, even a few studies that showed an uptick performance," said JWT executive creative director Florent Imbert as quoted in a report by The Verge.
"But, to us, it felt like a human truth. Running against an invisible clock will never be as motivating as running against someone - or something."
Still, the robot remains largely a device and monitoring an artificial running partner on the field can be burdensome and distracting. To solve this problem, runners need to access an app where they could input the distance they want to cover and set the speed to they intend to beat or reach. After putting all the necessary information, the robot should then be placed on the track line where it starts the count down and takes care of everything else.
As per Christian Science Monitor, the robot is 'programmable, self-driving, line-following' with a multiple sensors to stay on track while counting the rotation the bot makes in order to take note of the speed and distance. It also sports an array of other features such as LED lights, GoPro cameras, plus keeping on the line even as it curves at extremely high speed.
Currently, Puma is restricting the BeatBot to its athletes, teams, and important people linked to the footwear company. The cost to make one is quite high as the company invested in getting the right technology and the right people to do the job. However, before too long, other companies may start manufacturing the same based on Puma's idea.
"We went through over eight prototypes ... We even enlisted the expertise of a NASA robotics engineer and three MIT grads...The plan is always to develop new models, products and ideas to inspire every athlete," said Imbert as quoted by Yahoo News.
