Robot’s hitchhiking trip across Canada kicks off in Halifax
The parents of a smiley hitchhiker in yellow rain boots are hoping Canadians keep their little one safe during a cross-country journey.
This weekend, Haligonians travelling on Highway 102 might spot a robot with its gloved thumb pointing west on his way to British Columbia.
A team of researchers including creators Dr. David Harris Smith, assistant professor in communication studies and multimedia at McMaster University, and Dr. Frauke Zeller, assistant professor in professional communication at Ryerson University, will start hitchBOT on its national journey this Sunday.
“We just got a new brain for it today so we have to tinker with it before Sunday,” Smith said Thursday afternoon at NSCAD University’s Port Campus where hitchBOT was meeting new friends and testing their trivia knowledge.
The robot will be able to chat with anyone who picks it up, and drivers can post photos with hitchBOT on social media, or ask about its creation and music taste – it currently has Mr. Roboto “on repeat” but also likes the Blue Man group, according to his website.
The project is focused around whether robots can trust human beings, as well as testing artificial intelligence technology, speech recognition and processing.
Its final destination is the artist-run centre Open Space in Victoria, B.C. Smith said hitchBOT was created through different disciplines like humanities and philosophy, as well as the sciences and technology, to reflect our current culture.
The project will also explore how perceptions change around hitchhiking, Smith said, since people now consider the activity to be more dangerous than a couple decades ago.