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Nike Chalkbot Prints Your Messages on Tour de France

by Kaiser Hwang on July 13, 2009 at 10:25 AM

Lance Armstrong's Livestrong campaign, which focuses on inspiring and assisting cancer patients, has teamed up with Nike and software developer Deeplocal to develop the Chalkbot. This robot is programmed to paint text messages in yellow chalk along the 2,200 mile route of the Tour de France bicycle race. Up to 100,000 messages of "courage, hope and action" will be chalked along the route, Nike expects. You can submit your very own message by texting "LIVESTRONG," followed by your message, to 36453, or by visiting the official site.

In the video above, the creators elaborate on the creation of the robot, noting that people tend to better associate with physical, real things. By printing the messages on roads, the idea is that each inspiring message will be that much more effective. It's a great idea, and we wouldn't be surprised to see the Chalkbot used in future promotions and events. Let's just hope advertisers don't exploit it for the worst. [From: Trend Hunter]

Tags: cancer, cancer prevention, CancerPrevention, lance armstrong, LanceArmstrong, livestrong, robot, sports, top, tour de france, TourDeFrance

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