Zone Gadget

Osaka, Japan – Panasonic Corporation today announced that its EVOLTA batteries powered a tricycle robot to achieve a Guinness World RecordTM on August 6 at the Le Mans Circuit in France. This is the second Guinness World RecordTM for the EVOLTA battery which was already recognized as “the longest lasting AA alkaline battery”* in January 2008.
The new honor is based on the robot’s challenge for the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race.

The robot on a tricycle with a pair of AA size EVOLTA dry cell batteries on its back kept pedaling non-stop, following an infrared beam from a lead car, for about 5.6 laps – 23.726 km or 14.82 miles - around the 4.2 km Le Mans race circuit for 24 hours. Guinness World Records recognized the feat as “the longest distance covered by a battery-operated remote-controlled model car.” The robot, measuring 30 (L) x 20 (W) x 20 (H) cm including the tricycle, was designed by a renowned robot creator, Mr. Tomotaka Takahashi.

The Le Mans challenge was the second endurance test for the EVOLTA battery, whose name derived from “evolution” and “voltage.” The first test confirmed its durability when the humanoid robot, also powered by two AA EVOLTA batteries, successfully scaled a Grand Canyon cliff by climbing up a 530.4 m rope suspended from the cliff in about 6 hours and 46
minutes.

Widely recognized for its durability and long shelf-life of up to 10 years, 180 million EVOLTA batteries were sold worldwide in 2008 since its debut in the Japanese market in April 2008. Panasonic expects its global sales will increase to 300 million pieces in 2009. The EVOLTA batteries are suitable for any application from low-current applications such as TV remotes to high-drain applications like digital cameras. Coming in four different types, AA, AAA, C and D, they can be used for a wide variety of equipment.