A hitchhiking robot that captured the hearts of fans all over the world has met its demise after being vandalised in the US.
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Robot “hitchBOT” is seen holding a sign reading “Neuschwanstein” as he waits for a lift at the roadside in Munich, southern Germany, on February 13, 2015. The Canadian researchers who created hitchBOT told the Associated Press that they had received an image of the vandalized robot on Saturday.
“Sadly, sadly it’s come to an end”, said Frauke Zeller, one of its co-creators.
HitchBOT had successfully traveled across Canada in 26 days previous year. It would be picked up by passing travelers and left where other motorists would notice it.
Its American journey started in Marblehead, Massachusetts on July 17 with its thumb raised skyward, a grin on its digital face and tape wrapped around its cylindrical head that read “San Francisco or bust”.
Travelling circuit… A couple embrace as Dan Winske wheels hitchBOT through the stands before a baseball game at Fenway Park between the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigerson.
HitchBOT was designed as a social experiment: a talking travel companion that could recite factoids and engage in limited conversation.
During past hitchhiking trips, the robot attended a comic convention and a wedding, and had its portrait painted in the Netherlands.
Strangers then pick up Hitchbot and carry it around with them as documented by a built-in camera which randomly took pictures of its travels as well as a Global Positioning System which records and tracks its location.
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They are still unclear who destroyed the robot. Though there were fears of hitchBOT being destroyed or kidnapped along its unaccompanied journey, its creator says that the robot reached the West Coast relatively unscathed. HitchBOT even spent an entire week on the road with an unnamed heavy metal band. Her team doesn’t plan to release the last photo of it to protect young fans who might be distraught. “I hope that people won’t be too disappointed, too sad”.
