HitchBOT, the hitchhiking robot and social experiment designed by McMaster Engineer David Harris Smith and Frauke Zeller of Ryerson University, was found vandalized and destroyed in Philadelphia when they tried to tour it around the USA.
Sad.
They posted this message on the
website:
Quote:
Oh dear, my body was damaged, but I live on back home and with all my friends. I guess sometimes bad things happen to good robots! My trip must come to an end for now, but my love for humans will never fade. Thank you to all my friends.
A message from the family:
hitchBOT’s trip came to an end last night in Philadelphia after having spent a little over two weeks hitchhiking and visiting sites in Boston, Salem, Gloucester, Marblehead, and New York City. Unfortunately, hitchBOT was vandalized overnight in Philadelphia; sometimes bad things happen to good robots. We know that many of hitchBOT’s fans will be disappointed, but we want them to be assured that this great experiment is not over. For now we will focus on the question “what can be learned from this?” and explore future adventures for robots and humans.
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Last summer hitchBOT hitchhiked across Canada from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Victoria, British Columbia. In just 26 days it hitched a total of 19 rides and travelled over 10,000 kilometres. hitchBOT’s adventure continued as it visited Germany to explore cities like Munich, Cologne, Berlin, and Hamburg. hitchBOT also took a vacation in the Netherlands to see some of Twente’s most notable arts and culture locations.
