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Canada’s first hitchhiking robot, hitchBOT, will go on a German adventure from February 13th to 22nd participating in tourist activities across the country. Will the chatty robot be met with the same affection it experienced last summer in Canada? Or will hitchBOT receive a different kind of reaction in Germany?
Canadians have already fallen in love with hitchBOT – the tweeting, trivia-loving,wellington-wearing, hitchhiking robot from Port Credit, Ontario. The robot is about as tall as a six-year-old child and weighs no more than 15 pounds. It is wholly dependent on the good will of people, as it cannot move or get around on its own.
In July and August, 2014 hitchBOT charmed its way across Canada, hitching rides along the Trans-Canada highway. This February, it will be shining its wellies for its big adventure in Germany. With the help of its family, hitchBOT has been learning German and looks forward to making new friends.
Its co-creators, Dr. David Harris Smith (McMaster University) and Dr. Frauke Zeller (Ryerson University) originally developed the project to see whether robots can trust humans. Now they are looking forward to their offspring’s European adventure.
“We are anxious to learn how hitchBOT gets by on the Autobahn”, said Frauke Zeller, “And, who knows, it’s always been hitchBOT’s dream to referee a German soccer match.”
hitchBOT is a very talkative robot, thanks to the Cleverscript speech technology designed to converse with humans. It can answer questions including where it comes from, how to ride a horse, and its interests in astrophysics.
hitchBOT’s family consists of a collaborative, interdisciplinary team of researchers from the fields of visual arts, engineering, computer science, and communication. hitchBOT was first conceived in 2013 as a collaborative art project by Dr. David Harris Smith, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies and Multimedia at McMaster University and Dr. Frauke Zeller, Assistant Professor in the School of Professional Communication at Ryerson University .
Fans are encouraged to follow hitchBOT’s journey online on its website on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram. hitchBOT is also inviting users to share their hitchhiking stories and pictures using #hitchbot on Twitter and Instagram.
Agencies/Canadajournal
