Meet Hitchbot, the Robot Hitchhiking His Way Across Canada

Hi there! Glad you could make it today. The urge for a delicious mug of coffee is overpowering sometimes, isn't it? Me, too! Help yourself and nudge one of those virtual megamuffins onto your plate while you're about it. Say... have you ever done any hitchhiking? In 1961, I took the train from Montreal to Vancouver...then hitchhiked back. In 1963, I hitchhiked out to Vancouver and back. Lots of stories whenever you have a few hours. Meanwhile, here's a new hitchhiker. It's okay. You can pick him (it?) up!

While picking up hitchhikers is generally considered unsafe, Canadian motorists are going to find it difficult to refuse this cute, fun-loving robot. His name is Hitchbot, and he’s about the size of a six-year-old child. Equipped with a GPS, 3G wireless connectivity, a camera, and a built-in child booster seat in its bum, he will soon try to catch rides all the way across Canada – from Nova Scotia to British Columbia.

Throughout the coast-to-coast journey that starts on July 27, Hitchbot will be completely by himself. He is expected to find rides by signalling with the only movable part of its tiny body – his arm. 

He can talk too; researchers are expecting him to be able to charm his way into getting the rides that he needs. Along the way, he will even share all his adventures via social media. “It’ll sort of be like having an out-of-control teenager in your car, taking pictures of you and posting them on Facebook,” said David Harris Smith, the brains behind the project.

“Simply put, I am a free-spirited robot who wants to explore Canada and meet new friends along the way,” Hitchbot declares on his website. According to Smith, “Hitchbot can ask people if they have a story they would like to share with others and this would be posted as video to Hitchbot.me. We will moderate posts to avoid inappropriate content.”

I wish hitchhiking had a better image. It's a great / cheap way to see the country; meet folks, and generally get a whole lot of experiences you otherwise never would have had.

See ya, eh!

Bob