landed in the Amsterdam airport and
then made his way to the region of
Twente to explore some of the finest
historical and cultural sights Europe
has to offer. He visited art museums
and had a portrait drawn of himself
before conducting a band at the
Kulturhus Borne — a culture center. It’s
a mixture of theater, library, music
school, recreational center, etc.
He, of course, didn’t leave the
Netherlands without taking a boat
ride and trying on traditional wooden
clogs. Finally after an eventful
vacation, HitchBOT attended a fare
well party and got on the plane
back to Canada.
HitchBOT soon announced his
USA trip, starting in Boston, MA and
going all the way — manifest destiny
California. Like other trips, he got
citizen input via social media
to pick out his
stops
and
bucket list
items. This list included
seeing Times Square, the fireworks
at Walt Disney World, listening to jazz
music in New Orleans, and, of
course, spending a night at the
casinos in Vegas. His end goal
saw him traversing the US
and taking thousands of
miles to do so.
He arrived in Boston
and had his launch party
before hitching a boat
ride and seeing some of
Boston’s quintessential
sights like Public Garden
and Common and, of
course, watching the
Red Sox play in
Fenway Park. He then traveled
to New York City, where he would
take his first ever subway ride and see
the lights in Times Square, checking
off another bucket list item. After
this is when HitchBOT’s dream of
hitchhiking across the country
turned into a nightmare.
In Philadelphia, he was sitting
in a popular tourist area waiting for
his next ride. He fell into the wrong
hands and was badly vandalized. This
is a tragedy that embarrasses us in the
technology community throughout the
US. Many people would have loved to
see HitchBOT, maybe pick him up and
show him what they enjoy about their
area. It is upsetting that a few selfish
people could ruin a project and
experiment that was loved and
participated in by residents of multiple
countries. But alas, in the words of
HitchBOT himself, “Sometimes bad
things happen to good robots.”
On a positive note that shows the
40 SERVO 12.2015
Two of HitchBOT’s creators testing his trivia knowledge. He has all of Wikipedia programmed into his robotic brain.
HitchBOT takes pictures with some new
friends in Halifax.
HitchBOT posing while his creators work out his trip details. HitchBOT being interviewed in America before his attempted cross country trip.
HitchBOT’s creators
getting
prepared and
discussing his trip
across
Canada.
