Mr. EVOLTA is an original robot developed by world-renowned robot creator Tomotaka Takahashi.
Mr. EVOLTA has climbed the Grand Canyon and will attempt many other feats of endurance around the world relying upon only household batteries for energy.

Born in Osaka, Japan.
In 2003, Takahashi graduated from Department of Mechanical Engineering and Science at Kyoto University, Mechatronics Laboratory and established Robo-Garage within the university. As a robot creator, he is active worldwide in the study, planning, design, manufacture, and introduction of robots.

Takahashi’s work has appeared in magazines, including Time’s “Coolest Inventions 2004,” and he was named by Popular Science as one of “33 people who will change the future.” Some of his major works include the robots Chroino and FT.

His robots won RoboCup, an international robotics soccer competition, from 2004-2007.
Takahashi’s written works include “Robot no Tensai” (Robot Genius).

chroino

FT Female Type

In May 2008, Mr. EVOLTA set out to scale the walls of the Grand Canyon to prove the long-lasting power of a mere two Evolta batteries.

Wind, rain, and even hail tormented Mr. EVOLTA day after day, but on Saturday May 24, Mr. EVOLTA climbed a 530-meter rope to the top of the cliff in 6 hours, 46 minutes, and 31 seconds. Quite a feat! Mr. EVOLTA demonstrated the long-lasting power of EVOLTA batteries!

We interviewed world-class robot creator Tomotaka Takahashi, creator of Mr. EVOLTA, about the rigorous 5-day challenge.

On Tuesday, May 20, 2008, Mr. EVOLTA began his first attempt at a world record stunt. The robot was able to begin the challenge ahead of schedule after passing preliminary rope trials with flying colors. However, as you would expect on a 530 meter climb, complications arose soon after Mr. Evolta began his upward journey.

“When the robot reaches a certain height, it becomes difficult to see if he is still climbing or not,” Takahashi explained. “We used a telescope, and although we knew that the robot was moving, the rope was also swaying from the wind so it was difficult to decide whether or not he was still ascending.

“On the first day, the robot hadn’t made it to the top even though it was already past the time we estimated it would take him to ascend. When we pulled the rope in, we discovered that he had stopped at 230 meters. From the valley it looked like he was still climbing, so we were dismayed to find that he hadn’t even made it halfway. We couldn’t judge the distance at all looking up from below.”

“Overall, we attempted the climb six times over five days, and it was really difficult to ascertain whether or not the robot was climbing. When we were about halfway through, however, we decided to try using the stethoscope our rescue team had brought us. We held it to the rope and were able to hear the hum of the motor. This was amazingly useful.”

“We became accustomed to the sounds Mr. Evolta was making and became able to tell from the sound whether the motor was just running or whether the robot was still climbing the rope. After sunset, we continued the challenge with only the vibrations of the rope to guide us. In the darkness, as we listened earnestly for signs in the sounds coming from the robot, it seemed almost as if we were searching for survivors.” Takahashi joked. “When we did tests in Japan, the course was organized more like a treadmill and Mr. Evolta repeatedly climbed at most 10 meters, and he was never out of sight. This new issue brought us face to face with the reality of how huge the Grand Canyon really is."

Height was not the only obstacle faced in the Evolta Challenge; the harsh climate of the Grand Canyon meant wind, rain, and extreme changes in temperature. The Challenge began in a fierce heat wave with temperatures over 35Åé. However, the helicopter was prohibited from takeoff due to strong winds on the second day, and from the third day on, the Challenge continued in the face of squalls and winter-like temperatures.

”The third day was the first time we had experienced exhausted batteries, and I think the rain and cold caused it. Until then, even though there were parts problems during the tests that caused the robot to not function, the batteries hadn’t died once. Exposed to the rain and strong wind in the winter-like cold, the Evolta batteries may have approached near freezing and weren’t able to function properly. It is also possible that the batteries could have shorted from the rain.

”In the middle of an attempt on the fourth day, small hail stones started to fall! So much hail fell that we could have built a snowman,” Takahashi joked. “We could never have expected these conditions, that it would be so difficult.”

Takahashi took emergency measures to tackle the almost unimaginable succession of problems.

”First, to prevent shorts from the rain, we covered the batteries with warm glue. Next, we used a styrofoam cup to create a sheet 2 millimeters thick, which we then glued to the batteries. This protected the batteries to some extent from drops in temperature.
”In addition, and this isn't because of the weather, but the frequent attempts at the challenge made the batteries come loose from the robot’s body. We improved the design by using solder to fix the battery pack and stabilize the energy source.”

Takahashi and Mr. Evolta finally achieved success in the Challenge on the fifth day in their sixth attempt. They had only one day remaining at the Grand Canyon, and as they reached the final moments—they point at which they could not tolerate one more near-miss—their moment of success arrived.

”It looked like it would rain, but the temperature was much higher and the weather much nicer than the previous day. The batteries were operating at full strength. Mr. Evolta was moving at the same pace as he moved during our tests, and conditions were favorable both for the robot and the batteries. Honestly, we were more relieved than thrilled when Mr. Evolta finally made it to the top. All the staff had been hoping that the tiny robot would make it, and we had all worked very hard together, so it was truly wonderful when we finally succeeded,” Takahashi explained with a look of relief.

We asked Takahashi how he felt about accomplishing the Challenge at the Grand Canyon.

”Normally, there isn’t a demand for the robots I create to operate for extended periods of time. This meant that the Challenge made me think about durability, a critical issue in encouraging broader introduction of humanoid robots throughout the world. This was truly a great experience, because now that we have watched Mr. Evolta climb over this wall, we know we can achieve a great many more things. Following the Challenge, the Evolta batteries still had plenty of charge left, so I would like to try to attempt an even bigger challenge in the future.”

Success: 6 hours 46 minutes 31 seconds to climb 530.4 meters to the top!