Evolta Robot

A few days ago I went to a local supermarket. On the battery display, something got my attention. I saw a small figure inside each Panasonic battery bundle. I took one packet and looked carefully at the small robot-like toy. I recognized it. It was Panasonic Evolta batteries's mascot. The small robot, also called Evolta, was designed by Tomotaka Takahashi, a famous roboticist in Japan, and it has been used for Evolta batteries publicity in Japan. Evolta robot has gone through a series of challenges to show the endurence of Evolta Alkaline AA batteries.

The first challenge took place in Grand Canyon on May 2008. The small robot helped by a rope had to climb a 530m cliff. It took three attempts to achieve the goal. The first try was on May 22, but a mechanical problem cause the robot couldn't complete the task. On May 23, the ascent had to be stopped due to rough weather. Finally, on May 24, the robot reach the top of the cliff in 6 hour and 46 minutes, and the Guinness World Record recognized Evolta batteries as the Largest lasting AA Alkaline battery in a wide range of devices.

Evolta's second challenge was announced in 2009. The robot would run on LeMans Circuit in France, as many times as possible, in a 24 hour period. Takahashi redesigned the robot for this challenge. The robot was placed in a three-wheel bike, and it would be guided by an infrarred emitter located in a vehicle that would run in front of it.

On August 5, the small robot completed five and half laps (23.5 Kms), and Evolta batteries won the Guinness World Record for the longest distance covered by a battery-operated remote controlled car.

Recently, Evolta robot accomplished its third challenge. It walk from Tokio to Kioto. This route is know as Tokaido road, and it's 500Km long. It was expected the robot completed the journey after 49 days of walking.

The robot had to be redisigned again. It was placed inside a wheel to facilitate the movement over rough surfaces. A two wheeled cart was added for carrying the batteries. An infrared beam installed in a device was used for guiding the robot. Also, this time rules where different, the batteries would be recharged once per day throughout the journey. The robot had to be carried up stairs and it wouldn't walk at night or in the rain.

The journey started on September 23, 2010. And it finished on November 22, 19 days earlier than expected.