Tired of those long, arduous days on the golf course? Wish there were some way to ease the burden of having to carry all those golf clubs while your friends rest comfortably in their cubicles at work? CaddyTrek is the robot for you.
Made by FTR Systems, CaddyTrek is basically a golf bag that follows you around. The ‘robotic golf club carrier’ responds to a pre-programmed gesture, such as a Tiger Woods fist pump, to gear up and follow a golfer through finely buzzed greens or even tall grass. It can travel up to 27 holes on a single charge, manage inclines up to 30 degrees and, for those with a pathological love of the game, this caddy can even trek through snow. CaddyTrek follows six paces behind the golfer, zeroing in on a homing beacon worn on the belt.
“Most people just stop and stare,” Richard Nagle, CaddyTrek’s North America sales manager told the New York Times. “They’re not used to this.”
Well, yeah. Not only is the technology new, but I think many golfers without PGA tournament wins will remain content to schlep their bags around for a while given the CaddyTrek’s $1,595 price tag.
The day will come when robots do our laundry, take out the garbage and drive us to work. But robots like CaddyTrek and iRobot’s household pioneer worker Roomba are the straightforward robotic applications that will pave the way for their more sophisticated progeny.
PGA rules currently prevent professional golfers from taking a load off with the robotic caddy, but amateurs with the means will no doubt spring for the CaddyTrek just to make their day of leisure a whole lot more leisurely. And they’ll surely welcome standing out on the course, even if it’s not because of their play.
