has been controversial since the birth of robots. Especially the emergence of artificial intelligence has exacerbated human concerns about robots. An enduring thesis is "Are robots safe? Will they harm humans?". In 2013, two Canadian scientists asked another question "Can humans harm robots?". They designed a very creative experiment: let the robot hitchhiking to travel around the world alone.
hitchhiking travel is very popular in western countries. Carrying a backpack, standing on the side of the road, like a "hitchhiking" gesture, passing drivers understand the meaning of this gesture. A caring driver will stop and ask about your destination. If you drop by, take you for a while, and it will count as finding a companion on your way.
hitchhiking
2013, Professor David Harris Smith of McMaster University , Canada and Professor Flock Zeller of Ryerson University Developed this robot, named "hitchhiking robot" ( hitchbot). The appearance of this robot is also very unique: the whole body is made of plastic, and the transparent cake-shaped head has an LED display to simulate the mouth and eyes of a human face. The torso is a cylindrical plastic bucket, the limbs are made of flexible plastic, and the right hand is always a "hitchhiking gesture". A small cushion is also designed under the buttocks, so that the driver can put him on the seat. Equipped with GPS positioning system and WIFI device, it can also connect to the Internet via 3G. At the same time equipped with a camera and sound system. "Hitchhiking robots" cannot move, and can only communicate with people on a basic basis, such as informing the driver of the destination he plans to go to. The power of the robot mainly relies on solar energy, and it can also be charged with the cigarette lighter port on the car.
The head of the first hitchbot robot
"Hitchhiking robot" was originally designed to conduct social experiments.So the team opened up social accounts including Twitter and Facebook for him to share the experiences of netizens and "hitchhiking robots" on the road. After the announcement of the "Hitchhiking Robot" project, it attracted the attention of many netizens, and everyone has been paying attention to his every move.
hitchbot's social account
From July 27 to August 21, 2014, it took less than a month from Halifax, Canada to reach Victoria . So the team began the second phase of the experiment. This time they recreated a "hitchhiking robot" and planned to send him to the United States and Europe for a trip. It took 10 days to complete Germany in February 2015. In June of that year, it took another three weeks to walk around the Netherlands. The whole journey was smooth and enjoyable. Many netizens participated in it and attracted a lot of media attention.
February 2015 travel route of the hitchbot robot around Germany
2015 hitchbot robot met and took photos with local netizens during European trip
_p2phrobot in June 2015 Germany participated in the TV show
In July, the robot set out from Boston and planned to cross the United States by car and finally arrived in Los Angeles. On August 1st, two weeks after the departure, a photo appeared on Twitter. The photo showed that the "hitchhiking robot" was thrown in a corner. It was severely damaged and its head was also lost, making it very bleak. Obviously, this was deliberately damaged, and many netizens expressed their anger on social platforms. Subsequently, the team recovered the robot that could not be repaired with the help of netizens, but the head of the robot has not been found yet. The team did not intend to continue to investigate this incident. They believed that this was an experiment. The encounter with the "hitchhiking robot" was also an accident, which could appear at any time and anywhere.
Photos of the hitchbot robot being damaged appeared on social platforms
"Hitchhiking robot" is a social experiment with a large number of participants, which has attracted great social attention and aroused everyone's thinking. In 2019, Smith and Zeller recreated the robot and named him "Hitchhiking Robot 2.0". This time he was sent to Paris, France. He appeared in Linda Blanchett's play "Kill the Robot" as an actor, and traveled around France with the crew.
The hitchbot 2.0 robot is in France
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