Armed only with conversation software, the machine lasted just two weeks relying on the kindness of strangers to forward its journey. The US proved too much despite HitchBOT successfully traversing Canada and parts of Europe in 2014.
However, there may be a happy ending yet. Not willing to let robot violence scar its city, hackers and makers in Philadelphia are reaching out to the HitchBOT team to offer new life to the fallen Canadian after hearing about the robot violence.
"We'll say that at this moment, if we get the OK from the creators to repair or replace the needed parts for HitchBOT, we'll be happy to do so," wrote Georgia Guthrie, executive director for a local makerspace called The Hacktory. "If not, we understand... and we may just build ourselves a HitchBot2 to send along on its journey. We feel it's the least we can do to let everyone, especially the Robot community, know that Philly isn't so bad."
Perhaps one day they may become known to all robotkind as "Good Philadelphians."
Previously: The Hitchhiking Robot Experiment Did Not Do So Well
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The Hitchbot, a hitchhiking robot which was planned to tour the US has apparently failed to make it out of Philadelphia.
When hitchBOT the hitchhiking robot started his journey in Boston two weeks ago he wanted to see the entire country. Unfortunately, he never made it out of the Northeast. The researchers who built hitchBOT announced today that they need to stop the experiment because hitchBOT was vandalized in Philadelphia.
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The goal of the hitchhiking trip was to see how humans would interact with hitchBOT. And apparently the answer was "not well." HitchBOT has been around the world, including trips across the entirety of Canada and Germany without major incident. But America is clearly a hard land for our robot brothers and sisters.
Originally spotted at io9.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2015, @12:19AM
I heard about this on the radio and they said there were some things about this that may suggest it to be a hoax. They said that the destruction of the robot was made to look like surveillance footage but, upon further investigating, there were (conveniently) no surveillance cameras in the area that it was filmed. Also Philadelphia may have been conveniently chosen because no one would question it. The motives for the hoax could be for publicity. I'm not saying it was a hoax just that the possibility was being discussed on the radio.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2015, @02:24AM
Nah, niggers aren't that smart.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Berky on Wednesday August 05 2015, @04:10AM
"I'm not saying it was a hoax just that the possibility was being discussed on the radio."
Are you asking for other to validate whether or not these people on the radio were making stuff up or are you just hoping to perpetrate the idea that this was made up.
In the later case, it would help if you put in the effort of providing any indication of what radio stations you were listening to, or even better, which hosts were 'saying' what you claim they were saying.
I don't think that sending a Robot through Canada and Europe just to make one particular state look bad is very credible. If it is a hoax with any intelligence behind it, it will end up making Philadelphia Hackers heroes...
But.. really?
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2015, @11:52AM
What I've heard is that the video was a hoax made after the destroying of the robot, which was a real thing.
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Wednesday August 05 2015, @12:55AM
Hahaha ga-hyuck ga-hyuck HAWWWWWWWWWW!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2015, @02:38AM
Are you choking? Quick! Someone do the Heimlich maneuver!
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday August 05 2015, @08:38AM
Pennsylvania as a state has cities with strange qualities. Pittsburgh is a beautiful, interesting town with good food, but everyone walks around like they're on eggshells; it was exactly like NYC after 9/11, with everyone handling each other with kid gloves. It's like they suffered some terrible cataclysm and are still shellshocked. Philly, too, is a beautiful city, again, with good food, but there's an ineffable churlishness. They have a serious chip on their shoulder, but you have no idea why.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Farkus888 on Wednesday August 05 2015, @01:55PM
Rudeness and niceness are both contagious. Having been to both many times Pittsburgh is nice, philly is rude. It isn't eggshells, more a variation of Southern hospitality.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday August 05 2015, @02:40PM
Whatever the cause, it's a real shame. Philly is beautiful with a fine heritage. It seems like a place that could be salvaged, but how do you stage an intervention with an entire major city? "Hey, guys, we love your city but can you not be a sack of dicks? 'Cause it really makes everyone not want to be around you or even acknowledge you exist." And that last bit is quite true, because there is no other major city in America that has such a non-presence in the national mind.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2015, @08:57AM
By begging to not be brought to places like Detroit, New Orleans, Newark, St. Louis, Baltimore, Philadelphia.. If they leave him on the highway people leaving such cities can bring him somewhere more prospous(that won't decapitate him)
(Score: 2) by Bot on Wednesday August 05 2015, @12:31PM
I don't feel any sympathy for my beaten up bro, he tried to hook up to my Daisy[wheel printer].
Well done guys, I might even spare some of you when we finally get to the codes for all those rusting nuke silos.
I said "might".
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by The Archon V2.0 on Wednesday August 05 2015, @05:58PM
... someone will hand me the next one someone gives birth to and call it even.
Perhaps one day robotkind is going to call them the Fungible Philadelphians?