As a sporting spectacle, this is one event that is unlikely to set pulses racing. Which is just as well, because none of the runners lining up for the marathon in the western Japanese city of Osaka this morning even has a pulse.
The event is the world's first robot marathon, which began in the western Japanese city on Thursday.
The five battery-charged runners, each between 30cm and 44cm in height, will compete on arguably the least picturesque marathon course in the world: a room in Osaka's Asia-Pacific trade centre.
Organisers of the Robo Mara Full say the race will test the robots' durability and manoeuvrability to the limit as they attempt to complete 422 laps of the 100-metre track to make up the 26.2-mile marathon distance.
The event is being organised by Vstone, a Japanese robot maker, and funded by the municipal government of Osaka, a city that once depended on heavy industry but is now trying to position itself as a centre of robot innovation.
While the bipedal robots won't have to worry about pulling a muscle or hitting the "wall" in the final stages, they still performed knee-bends and other warm-up exercises before lining up.
Vstone's entry is broadcasting the entire race on Ustream via a video camera installed in its head.
Japan has an impressive record of marrying cutting-edge robot technology and athletic achievement. It hosted the first robot football World Cup in Nagoya in 1997, and again in 2005, in Osaka. Last year's tournament in Singapore drew 500 teams from 40 countries.
The universities and companies taking part in the Osaka marathon are permitted to change their robots' batteries and carry out running repairs, but the machines must run unassisted.
The winner is expected to complete the course on Sunday, four days after the race began. Sammy Wanjiru, the reigning men's Olympic marathon champion, is unlikely to lose any sleep.
The event is the world's first robot marathon, which began in the western Japanese city on Thursday.
The five battery-charged runners, each between 30cm and 44cm in height, will compete on arguably the least picturesque marathon course in the world: a room in Osaka's Asia-Pacific trade centre.
Organisers of the Robo Mara Full say the race will test the robots' durability and manoeuvrability to the limit as they attempt to complete 422 laps of the 100-metre track to make up the 26.2-mile marathon distance.
The event is being organised by Vstone, a Japanese robot maker, and funded by the municipal government of Osaka, a city that once depended on heavy industry but is now trying to position itself as a centre of robot innovation.
While the bipedal robots won't have to worry about pulling a muscle or hitting the "wall" in the final stages, they still performed knee-bends and other warm-up exercises before lining up.
Vstone's entry is broadcasting the entire race on Ustream via a video camera installed in its head.
Japan has an impressive record of marrying cutting-edge robot technology and athletic achievement. It hosted the first robot football World Cup in Nagoya in 1997, and again in 2005, in Osaka. Last year's tournament in Singapore drew 500 teams from 40 countries.
The universities and companies taking part in the Osaka marathon are permitted to change their robots' batteries and carry out running repairs, but the machines must run unassisted.
The winner is expected to complete the course on Sunday, four days after the race began. Sammy Wanjiru, the reigning men's Olympic marathon champion, is unlikely to lose any sleep.
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