Hitchhiker robot beheaded in Philadelphia

While leaving a robot unattended at the side of the road may seem foolhardy to some, Harris and Zeller originally conceived of the project specifically as a means of testing whether or not robots could trust humans.

Johanna VanderMass, a spokesperson for Ryerson, said no one from hitchBOT’s team was available for comment, and also pointed to Wednesday’s planned update when declining comment.

The kid-size robot set out to travel cross-country after successfully hitchhiking through Canada as well as journeying through parts of Europe past year.

The robot bounced around the Boston area and was briefly taken to sea. Other items on its American bucket list included a photo of Mount Rushmore and a jazz outing in New Orleans.

Mr. Wellens considered paying a taxi $350 to drive the robot to Washington before leaving it on a bench, as the robot’s instructions suggested.

The same idea was expressed by some social media users. Rather, they “wish to remember the good times, and we encourage hitchBOT’s friends and fans to do the same”.

Video footage has emerged that apparently shows the person who decapitated and destroyed hitchBOT, the friendly, Canadian hitch-hiking robot.

The video itself, with the robot conveniently hidden from view, appears to be a prank, although the fact that hitchBOT’s final guardians have gained so much publicity from his death may raise an eyebrow or two. Mr. Bassmaster trolled an ABC news reporter covering the hitchBOT case by identifying himself as Teste and giving the interview in character.

That character wears a No. 12 Philadelphia Eagles jersey of former NFLer Randall Cunningham, the same jersey worn by the supposed attacker in the video provided by Wellens.

Hitchbot’s creators say they aren’t sure yet whether they’ll rebuild, but they are considering the many offers of help, including some coming from Philadelphians themselves whom were mad that it was their city where Hitchbot met its demise. “So we have to sit down now and see what can be done next… we will make a decision in due course, but it is too early to really say for now”. As of Tuesday morning, a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to fix hitchBOT had raised more than $4,000. “For now we will focus on the question, ‘what can be learned from this?’, and explore future adventures for robots and humans”. And then they come and ask, and what is this, you know?