Japanese Company to Sponsor first Robot Marathon – 26.2 Miles to Glory

Robots have barely learned how to walk, but Vstone is already pushing them to run. The Japanese robot research and manufacturing firm has announced it is putting together the world's first marathon for our mechanical offspring. The Robot Challenge will have bipedal bots racing around a 100m track for 422 laps either remotely controlled or operating completely autonomously by following a painted line. As you can see in the video below, the contest is unlikely to feature sprinting or even jogging competitors. This race will go to the strong and steady robot that can survive the repeated wear and tear on its servos. Fast or slow, the Robot Challenge marathon marks a step in the evolution of amateur level contests - we know you can make fun or fierce artificial humanoids, now show us a bot that has the staying power to really serve the human race.

Along with their announcement for the Robot Challenge, Vstone released the following concept video. It's very short, just enough footage to give developers an idea of what they'd need to work on. Note that this demo track is far from being 100 meters long.

The robot shown in the demo is Vstone's own Robovie-PC, developed in cooperation with ATR. Robovie-PC is a robot that's also a computer, hence the name. It features a 1.6 GHz processor, twenty degrees of freedom, and a 1.3 megapixel camera in its head. That latest sensor is likely how the bot is able to stay on track during its test run. Retailing for around $4500, Robovie-PC probably represents a typical investment expected for contestants in the Robot Challenge. You don't have to be a major research institution to afford such a setup, but you can't exactly be a first-time competitor either.