Puma unveils new runners’ training aid and its a robot

Puma, a German shoe company, has just announced the company has developed a new running partner for racers to assist them in training, and the the robotic device can match even the fastest runners, according to Christian Science Monitor.

Puma designed and developed the Beatbot, a robotic device that kind of looks like one of the company’s shoe boxes, in cooperation with others, to pace runners during training in hopes of helping them prepare for breaking records, at least their personal ones.

The company said everyone runs faster when there is something to beat, but asked the question, ‘How do you beat a record when you can’t see it?’.  Florent Imbert, of the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson New York, a collaborator on the device, said, “We found a lot of anecdotal evidence that head to head competition raised performance levels, even a few studies that showed an uptick performance.  But, to us, it felt like a human truth.  Running against an invisible clock will never be as motivating as running against someone—or something.”

Puma said the robot uses an array of sensors to follow a line on the track, while measuring speed and distance by the rotation of the device’s wheels.  While following a line is not a new innovation in robotics, the ability of the Beatbot to maintain the track at high speeds around corners is a new improvement.  The robot also features a GoPro camera on board.

Runners will only need to access an app to program the distance they plan to run and the speed at which they want to pace themselves, and the Beatbot will simply follow the line.

The Beatbot in not likely to be seen racing around your neighborhood track fields any time soon.  The cost was described by Imbert as “prohibitive” for the average runner.  The device will also require the laying of well-defined lines to follow, making the robot currently only available for Puma-sponsored athletes to use while training.

But the company did not rule out the possibility of a commercial version to be produced at some time in the future.