Ride the Lightning

Hitchhiking Robot is Moving Steadily Across Canada

August 12, 2014

Since I am still dutifully serving in the ABA House of Delegates as you read this, I opted for another quirky story, that of Hitchbot, a hitchhiking robot who is now a good portion of the way across Canada. Make sure you click on the link above to enjoy the photos.

Hitchbot's chest is a Coors Light beer bucket wrapped in solar panels. The Gumby-like legs are pool noodles. He can carry on conversations with knowledge from Wikipedia. Hitchbot himself will tell you, “I am hoping to make new friends, have interesting conversations and see new places along the way.”

Hitchbot is the creation of two Canadian communications professors conducting something of a social experiment. They call it culture theater and art – "meant to reframe our thinking about how we adopt and integrate technologies into our social and cultural life,” Prof. David Smith has said.

Hitchbot has had a peaceful journey thus far. No one has kidnapped him and stripped him for some of his $2,000 in parts. Travelers have embraced Hitchbot, happy to post photos with him. More than 57,000 people are following Hitchbot's exploits on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can follow him here.

Drivers are told not to be afraid to pick Hitchbot up if they find him hitchiking along the side of the road. Question: What will happen if one of Google's self-driving cars finds him? Hmmmm . . . .

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