Technology may soon make it possible to run with a jogging partner even when he or she is in another city. Researchers at Australia’s University of Melbourne and CSIRO colleagues have developed the Jogging over a Distance system that uses mobile phone and GPS technology as well as custom software to transform a phone conversation into a 2D audio experience.

GPS data is collected by a miniature computer worn in a close-fitting backpack and transmitted to each jogger’s headset so they can hear their partner’s voice behind, beside or in front, depending on their relative speed.