Chalkbot in France

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfnuooHHVu8&hl=en&fs=1&]

Under normal circumstances we would say it’s quite illegal to allow a robot to complete the Tour de France, but this time, we’ll let it slide.

Following Lance Armstrong’s battle with cancer and his ability to overcome all obstacles and win the Tour de France seven consecutive years, this amazing race has become much more than a race.

Nike and Armstrong teamed up to create Livestrong, a foundation that empowers people with cancer to fight for their lives.

At this year’s Tour de France words will lead the riders to the finish line. An advertising firm by the name of Wieden and Kennedy partnered with DeepLocal to develop the Chalkbot, a computer operated text generator and delivery man of expression.

The Chalkbot will lead the race with over 100,000 personal messages of survival, hope, remembrance and empowerment sent in from all over the world. Once the message is printed a photo is taken and the sender receives the picture along with the exact location in France.

So riders; follow the yellow chalk road and know that together we’re battling much more than a race.

-Brittany Maguire