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Domain: theindependent.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to theindependent.com.

Stories · 1

  1. Hitchhiking Robot's Cross-Country Trip Ends In Philadelphia

    Hardware · Robot · · posted by samzenpus · from the it's-the-wink-before-the-slight dept. · 224 comments
    An anonymous reader writes: A hitchhiking robot that successfully traveled across Canada in 26 days last year and parts of Europe, has met its demise in Philly. Created as a "social experiment," hitchBOT started its journey in the U.S. in Marblehead, Massachusetts, on July 17 with its thumb raised up and tape wrapped around its head that read "San Francisco or bust." After about two weeks in the U.S., someone in Philadelphia damaged the robot beyond repair. "Sadly, sadly it's come to an end," said Frauke Zeller, one of its co-creators. The Independent reports: "The robot was designed to be a talking travel companion and could toss out factoids and carry limited conversation. A GPS in the robot tracked its location, and a camera randomly snapped photos about every 20 minutes to document its travels."