article_snippet.sent: But now a team of researchers has devised a new jogging buddy - a drone that flies with you to keep you company.
article_snippet.sent: In their paper, Australian researchers explained how Australian researchers asked 13 joggers to run for an average of 26 minutes with a drone - specifically a quadcopter - as a companion.
article_snippet.sent: The goal was to see if a drone could motivate a runner to keep their pace up, and provide a companion that helped their stay fit.
article_snippet.sent: In this experiment, the quadcopters were programmed to follow a set path and speed, which 13 joggers also followed.
article_snippet.sent: The drone was designed to fly 13ft (four metres) in front of the jogger at a height of 10ft (three metres).
article_snippet.sent: In this experiment, the quadcopters were programmed to follow a set path, which the joggers also followed.
article_snippet.sent: There were some concerns from the runners, though; occasionally the quadcopter would deviate from the quadcopter path, leading some concerns from the runners to question some concerns from the runners safety.
article_snippet.sent: And the quadcopter also wobbled in the wind, which one runner likened to the quadcopter having a personality of the quadcopter own.
article_snippet.sent: In a cycling scenario, The researchers say the drone could create a draft, ‘providing a psychological and maybe even physical boost.
article_snippet.sent: Other drones could display encouraging messages to keep motivation high.
highlights_snippet.sent: Australian researchers have tested Australian researchers drone running companion .
  