"Tomatan is a (somewhat horrifying) humanoid robot designed to perch on a runner's back and deliver delicious tomatoes to provide a nutritious boost during long running sessions. The device weighs 8 kilograms (17.6 lbs) . A 3kg (6.6 lbs) version dubbed 'Petite-Tomatan', which uses a delivery tube system rather than a mechanical arm, was also unveiled. Tomatan was designed by Meiwa Denki, a company known for their eccentric devices. Inventor Nomichi Tosa notes that approximately 100 tomatoes were used in the creation of Tomatan. The gentleman suffering beneath Tomatan's cruel yoke in these photos is Kagome employee Shigenori Suzuki, who will participate in the Tokyo Marathon along with his new robot "friend"." - rønin

Force fed by a robot.. this is what I have to look forward to in my twilight years. - CW