Hitchhiking robot on US road trip

With its thumb raised skyward and a grin on its digital face, the robotic creation of two researchers in Canada is hitchhiking across the US.

The humanoid robot named hitchBOT has already caught lifts across Canada and in Europe, relying on the kindness and curiosity of strangers.

But yesterday it started its first US tour, setting out from Salem, Massachusetts, with dreams of San Francisco ahead.

Along the way, it hopes to see some quintessential American sites, including Times Square, Mount Rushmore and the Grand Canyon.

The child-size robot is immobile on its own, so it gets from place to place by being helped around by strangers.

Travellers can pass it off to others they meet, or leave it at a petrol station or shop. They can just leave it seated on its kickstand with its thumb raised.

Ideally, the creators hope, drivers won’t leave the bot along busy roads and will charge the battery when it runs low. Otherwise, there are no rules.

“We want to see what people do with this kind of technology when we leave it up to them,” said Frauke Zeller, one of the creators and an assistant professor in professional communication at Toronto’s Ryerson University. “It’s an art project in the wild — it invites people to participate.”

On the outside, hitchBOT looks like it’s built for play rather than performance. It has a bucket for a body and bendy foam limbs capped by yellow gardening gloves and matching rubber boots.

The whimsical attire is intentional, its makers said, to make it approachable and to deter potential thieves.

A GPS in the robot can track its location, and a camera randomly snaps photographs about every 20 minutes to document its travels.

But the team behind the robot seeks permission from people in the photos before posting them to social media, where hitchBOT has built a devoted fan base.

More than 30,000 people follow the robot on Twitter, and dozens have posted their own selfies with it.

Researchers are culling data from social media to study how people interact with a robot that needs their help, unlike traditional robots designed to help them.