Tech
Hitchhiking Robot HitchBOT Begins Journey Across the United States This Summer
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Jul 21, 2015 08:18 AM EDT
A hitchhiking robot has begun its epic journey across the United States. Known as hitchBOT, the robot was actually first designed as a kind of sociology experiment to see whether or not a robot could trust humans enough to hitchhike solo across the country.
The robot actually first travelled across Canada and to several parts of the Netherlands and Germany. With that said, the humanoid robot can't move by itself. Instead, it relies on the kindness and curiosity of strangers. People can carry around the child-sized robot, pass it off to others they meet, or leave it seated on its kickstand with its thumb raised.
The child-sized robot has a body made from a bucket, rubber boots and a cake pan lid. It also carries some high-tech onboard equipment, including a camera, a GPS unit and a speech software system for carrying on limited conversations.
"We want to see what people do with this kind of technology when we leave it up to them," said Frauke Zeller, one of the creators of the robot, in an interview with The Mongomery Advertiser. "It's an art project in the wild-it invites people to participate."
The robot has already departed from the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts. Its final destination, though, will be the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco. Along the way, the robot will hopefully make stops at several famous tourist spots, including Times Square, Mount Rushmore and the Grand Canyon. The robot will also provide its own updates along the way and post them to the hitchBOT website.
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First Posted: Jul 21, 2015 08:18 AM EDT
A hitchhiking robot has begun its epic journey across the United States. Known as hitchBOT, the robot was actually first designed as a kind of sociology experiment to see whether or not a robot could trust humans enough to hitchhike solo across the country.
The robot actually first travelled across Canada and to several parts of the Netherlands and Germany. With that said, the humanoid robot can't move by itself. Instead, it relies on the kindness and curiosity of strangers. People can carry around the child-sized robot, pass it off to others they meet, or leave it seated on its kickstand with its thumb raised.
The child-sized robot has a body made from a bucket, rubber boots and a cake pan lid. It also carries some high-tech onboard equipment, including a camera, a GPS unit and a speech software system for carrying on limited conversations.
"We want to see what people do with this kind of technology when we leave it up to them," said Frauke Zeller, one of the creators of the robot, in an interview with The Mongomery Advertiser. "It's an art project in the wild-it invites people to participate."
The robot has already departed from the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts. Its final destination, though, will be the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco. Along the way, the robot will hopefully make stops at several famous tourist spots, including Times Square, Mount Rushmore and the Grand Canyon. The robot will also provide its own updates along the way and post them to the hitchBOT website.
Related Stories
This Cute Robot is Self-Aware and Absolutely Adorable (VIDEO)
Giant Robot Battle: America Challenges Japan to Robotics Duel (VIDEO)
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone