Last but not least: racing robot
Puma and JWT are delighting ambitious runners with a clever gadget designed to motivate them to peak performance during training: Introducing the Beatbot.
Those who follow the faster runners run or drive faster. This is because the ambition to keep up is motivating. This is why there are pacemakers in cycling races, for example, who temporarily (with a great deal of effort) take the lead in a group and thus spur on their stronger teammates.
In collaboration with JWT, Puma has now presented the Beatbot in the USA. This is an autonomous remote-controlled car. A desired time for the 100-meter run, for example, is entered via an app. For example, your own best time that you would like to beat. The BeatBot then accompanies the runner for the desired time. As it can run at speeds of up to 44 km/h, the device doesn't even stop at Usain Bolt's world record time of 9.58 seconds. The bot follows the white lines of the track to keep on track.
The racing shoebox seems to be a pretty good and fairly well implemented idea. Whether and at what price the walking robot will be available to the masses remains to be seen. However, it is unlikely to be cheap. (hae)
