Robot To Slowly Run Ironman Triathlon Course 71
itwbennett writes "A robot designed by Panasonic will be running the course of this year's Ironman World Championship triathlon next month. But don't expect it to win. The diminutive robot won't even be competing in the actual race. It will start the Ironman course Oct. 24 and finish in about a week (168 hours), according to its designer. 'Evolta's height is just one-tenth of a grown man, so we figured out that it would take it 10 times more time,' Panasonic design engineer Tomotaka Takahashi told Reuters."
Re:Triathalon (Score:4, Informative)
As I'm sure you figured out, that's exactly why they put the swimming first. They watch you like a hawk, with literally hundreds of people out in boats and ski-doos. Having the swimming first means that they get it all over with at once, in a couple of hours, rather than having them be out there literally all day.
Especially for the full-length Ironman, where the finalists don't finish until well after dark. Having to do the swim course in the dark would guarantee deaths.