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evolta

Evolta robot to tackle grueling Ironman triathlon

Panasonic's Evolta robot doesn't look like your typical top athlete. The little green and white guy can stand on the palm of your hand. He runs on rechargeable batteries.

The 7-inch-tall humanoid is also very ambitious. He is taking on Hawaii's famous Ironman Triathlon course, a competition that leaves many human athletes in the dust.

The athletic Evolta already climbed the Grand Canyon, survived 24 hours of Le Mans, and walked from Toyko to Kyoto. He will now swim, bike, and run for a total of more than 140 miles with a one-week time limit to cross the finish line.

Three specialized bodies powered by three AA batteries each are required to get through the event, which Panasonic conceived of to promote its Evolta line of rechargeable batteries. He'll be going day and night with breaks to recharge.

"Their biggest hurdle is the swim," Evolta developer Tomotaka Takahashi says in a press video. "They'll be swimming in the sea. There are huge waves, tides, and the wind on the ocean surface."

A forward-crawl swimming style was chosen to get the plucky little machine through the challenge. The swimming version of the bot is attached to flotation devices and has spinning arms for propulsion.… Read more

Panasonic's Evolta bot completes 300-mile trek

Panasonic's robo-mascot, Mr. Evolta, can notch another feat in his plastic backpack. He's just completed a 300-mile trek from Tokyo to Kyoto, reaching the ancient capital ahead of schedule.

The 7-inch-tall humanoid, designed by Tomotaka Takahashi, traveled along the old Tokaido high road, which was a kind of Route 66 during Japan's medieval age.

He hauled 12 AA Evolta batteries in a two-wheeled cart and followed an infrared signal from a device pushed by human teammates walking beside him. See a vid here.

With a top speed of 2-3 mph, Mr. Evolta reached the goal of the … Read more

Robot marching 300 miles from Tokyo to Kyoto

Panasonic's mascot robot Mr. Evolta is known for amazing stunts like climbing out of the Grand Canyon, but his latest feat will take him through the middle of Japan on a 300-mile march from Tokyo to Kyoto.

Mr. Evolta has appeared in various incarnations under the guiding hand of robot designer Tomotaka Takahashi. His current form is a small humanoid robot pulling an medieval-style daihachiguruma two-wheeled cart.

The 7-inch-tall, 2.2-pound humanoid walks in a rotating plastic cylinder like a hamster wheel, pulling his battery cart. He's remote-controlled and runs on 12 AA Evolta batteries, with a top … Read more

Step aside, Oxyride, here comes Evolta

Panasonic's OxyRide AA batteries had barely made their debut, and they've already been overtaken in the endless race for the longest-lasting and most durable battery.

Newcomer Evolta, derived from the words "evolution" and "voltage," is due out in Japan later this month with a worldwide rollout later in the year. Also from the Panasonic stable, it claims to be the first of its kind and will be officially certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as "the world's longest-lasting AA alkaline battery." In numbers that we can understand, that's … Read more