Japanese Robot Set For 143-Mile Triathlon

A green and white robot is to take part in a gruelling challenge next month - the Ironman Triathlon course in Hawaii.

The tiny automaton, called Evolta, has already scaled the cliff walls of the Grand Canyon and driven the 24-hour Le Mans race but its maker, Tomotaka Takahashi, says this is a particularly hard challenge.

"This is very tough even for a sportsman, but I think it is worth a challenge."

"The robot will encounter a lot of hardships on its way, but I hope it will overcome them all and succeed in the end."

Evolta is fitted with three different bodies and three rechargeable batteries and was made by electronics firm Panasonic .

The intrepid cybernetic competitor will have to swim, run and bike for a total of approximately 143m (230 km).

It has been given a slight advantage, with the time given to complete the task being a week - or 168 hours, 10 times longer than for a "live" sportsman.