是朋友不是奴隶Joggobot——陪跑飞行机器人

For those of you that enjoy running but sometimes require a little bit of encouragement， The Exertion Games Lab at RMIT University in Melbourne has developed a drone called Joggobot. The autonomous flying bot can not only keep a steady pace， but it can also provide encouragement when you start to flag.

Joggobot is an autonomous flying quadcopter that features a sensor that locks onto the pattern of a T-shirt that the runner is wearing. This allows to fly in front of the runner， keep pace and， should you need it， give you the motivation to keep running. Its two settings allow it to either match the runners speed or “coach” you by setting a slightly more challenging speed.

Instead of using robots to perform tasks for us， The Exertion Games Lab believes they can be companions for physical activity. Instead of using exercise apps on your mobile phone， the creators think that a robotic companion can lead to more engaging experiences.

The Joggobot also acts and reacts to its environment， such as extreme weather conditions like wind and rain. In a press statement， the design team said： “Both the Joggobot and the jogger are affected by environmental conditions such as wind. Boths performance is affected by rain. Both get ‘tired （Joggobots speed diminishes with low battery） and with both you can hear if they invest physical effort： the jogger puffs， the Joggobot whirrs. Joggers might ‘relate more to Joggobot because it has a body， they might even develop empathy because both have a body-focused experience. This is important， as we know from sports research that social factors are key when it comes to exercising.”

Unfortunately， Joggobots battery currently only lasts around 20 minutes which isnt exactly ideal for those training for a marathon， but the team assures us that they plan to make more upgrades to the robot over the next few years.

墨尔本皇家理工大学体力运动实验室已经为那些喜欢跑步但不时需要鼓励的人成功研制了一款叫作“Joggobot”的陪跑飞行机器人。这款飞行机器人不但步履稳健，还能在你疲乏之时给你鼓励。

Joggobot 是一个自动四旋转翼飞行器，内置一个传感器，可锁定跑步者身上穿的T恤图案。这就使得它可以在跑步者前面陪跑飞行。并且，如果你需要的话，给你继续跑下去的动力。它有两种设置模式，既可以配合跑步者的速度，也可以设置较为有挑战性的速度，以此训练你。

墨尔本皇家理工大学体力运动实验室认为，机器人可以成为体育运动者的伙伴，而非只利用他们来为完成人们部署的任务。发明者认为机器人伙伴比手机上的运动应用程序更能给人们带来更多的绝妙体验。

Joggobot 也会对它周围的环境做出反应，比如刮风下雨这样的极端天气情况。在一次新闻发言中，该设计团队称：“这款飞行机器人也和人一样会受到环境的影响，比如刮风。下雨也会影响二者的表现。都会‘变累（Joggobot当电池电量不足时会减速）。他们消耗体能时我们都能够听见：跑步者会气喘吁吁，Joggobot会嗡嗡作响。因为Joggobot是实体，跑步者就可能更易和它‘建立关系。由于双方都有专注于自身身体的运动体验，他们甚至会产生共鸣。这一点非常重要，因为运动研究表明，当人们锻炼时，社会因素很关键。”

遗憾的是，目前Joggobot 的电池只能使用20分钟，这对于马拉松运动训练人员来说很不理想。然而，该设计团队保证，他们将会在接下来的几年内，对这款机器人做出更多的优化。