Puma reveals a tiny racing robot ‘BeatBot’ that can run as fast as Usain Bolt
Robot movies have always been fun, be it Terminator series where the machines have taken over the world and there are robots that have a mission to kill or save someone’s life. Or iRobot where there are robots which work for you doing your errands and then there is Sonny the best robot with human emotions. All these movies were fiction and showcased future which is still not here. But robots are slowly and steadily moving into our lives, as AI and machine learning are getting better. A simple example of that is a cleaner robot, similar to like the ones in movie WALL-E.
Health wearable tech is becoming more and more popular. The new health and fitness gear with innovative ideas are making their own way to reality and helping people in meeting their fitness goals. Puma has now upped that game with a new robot on the scene a runner robot and named BeatBot. BeatBot is one step in a different direction than wearable devices and it definitely is a right move towards future.
The video showcases the prowess of BeatBot and it rightly makes a good point running and trying to beat a visible opponent is way better than running against an invisible clock. BeatBot is developed by a NASA robotics engineer, three MIT students and J. Walter Thompson ad agency.
The robot looks like a shoebox on wheels but looks can make a fool, just don’t go by the looks of it. In the video, you can see it is capable of reaching world record breaking the speed of 44km/hr done by champion sprinter Usain Bolt.
BeatBot uses as many as nine infrared sensors to keep following the line on the track, an Arduino microcontroller to monitor speed and distance by measuring wheel revolutions. The bot is fitted with a set of GoPro cameras on front and rear to record and review your run afterwards. All the data is processed in real time for making manoeuvres keep following the track line, bend navigation and reach the finish line at the pre-programmed pace.
To use the bot you just need to select the distance and time to beat in the app on your smartphone and place BeatBot on the line. The bot can be programmed to run old records like those of your friends or say even Usain Bolt. BeatBot can help long distance runners to pace themselves and also sprinters to push for new time limits. Not everything was smooth in the development of this bot. There was an issue of keeping it on track while on a turn with its speed, as many as eight prototypes were done before finally BeatBot came.
In the video, Bolt is seen sitting next to BeatBot and challenging runners all around the world. Some of you may be thinking of getting your hands on this runner robot, you are in for a heartbreak. BeatBot is not available for general public as of now and is only for Puma sponsored teams and athletes.
Source: Fast Company
Originally published at techbonza.com on May 6, 2016.
