WeeDram
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If you are in Germany and see a bucket with arms and legs standing by the side of the road with thumb extended, pull over and give it a lift!
hitchBOT is a charming little robot built by Canadian university researchers. Sometimes we wonder whether humans can trust robots and technology. This is a social experiment to see if a helpless robot can trust humans.
hitchBOT can see, detect motion, listen and talk. It has a pixel display to make facial expressions, a GPS tracker and an Internet link -- however it can't move or recharge its batteries without human help.
Last year they left it by the side of the road in Halifax, Canada. Incidentally Halifax is where Audi vehicles enter the country. The robot was programmed to ask anyone who approached for a ride and a recharge from a 12V socket. Its goal was to hitchhike to Vancouver, 6000 km across the country. What happened next was unscripted and the researchers had no idea whether it would be ignored, vandalized, or taken in the wrong direction. They did not follow behind it, just monitored it through the Internet link. It turned out to be extremely popular and successful, even ending up as a guest at someone's wedding, and reached its goal in just 21 days.
This year it will be touring Germany, although this time it will have a TV crew in tow so maybe it won't be quite as spontaneous.
For more info -- http://www.hitchbot.me/
hitchBOT is a charming little robot built by Canadian university researchers. Sometimes we wonder whether humans can trust robots and technology. This is a social experiment to see if a helpless robot can trust humans.
hitchBOT can see, detect motion, listen and talk. It has a pixel display to make facial expressions, a GPS tracker and an Internet link -- however it can't move or recharge its batteries without human help.
Last year they left it by the side of the road in Halifax, Canada. Incidentally Halifax is where Audi vehicles enter the country. The robot was programmed to ask anyone who approached for a ride and a recharge from a 12V socket. Its goal was to hitchhike to Vancouver, 6000 km across the country. What happened next was unscripted and the researchers had no idea whether it would be ignored, vandalized, or taken in the wrong direction. They did not follow behind it, just monitored it through the Internet link. It turned out to be extremely popular and successful, even ending up as a guest at someone's wedding, and reached its goal in just 21 days.
This year it will be touring Germany, although this time it will have a TV crew in tow so maybe it won't be quite as spontaneous.
For more info -- http://www.hitchbot.me/
