We all love robots but would you give one a lift if you come across it hitchhiking at the side of the road?
This is exactly the situation faced by Canadian drivers right now, as Hitchbot makes his way from Halifax all the way across the country to Victoria in British Columbia. The robot, who wears yellow gloves and a permanent smile, has already set off on the 4,000 mile trip and it is going well so far.
Any drivers who decide to stop and give the cheery chap a life gets given details of a website to visit. On the site they get given instructions on how to look after Hitchbot and where to drop him off after the trip. As they drive along after that the robot speaks to the driver and the car’s other occupants.
A Social Media Phenomenon
He takes pictures every half hour or so and sends them back home to get uploaded to his social media accounts. The people who have given him lifts so far has also been happily taking selfies with him and sharing them with the world through their social media accounts.
The brains behind Hitchbot are a couple of inventors called David Harris Smith and Frauke Zeller. These university researchers wanted to find out if robots could trust humans. So far, this is definitely the case, as Hitchbot has got a warm welcome from many drivers on his epic hitchhiking road trip across Canada. Will he make it to his final destination safely?
Do you think a robot could hitchhike across the UK like this without any problems?
