HitchBot Hikes Across Canada

Photo courtesy hitchBot

 

By Priya Potapragada



McMaster University and Ryerson University researchers collaborated on creating a hitchhiking robot that will travel from coast to coast in Canada. 



Dr. David Harris Smith and Dr. Frauke Zeller and their team of researchers equipped the robot, hitchBot, with technologies such as speech recognition and processing, 3G wi-fi connectivity and a Wikipedia programming interface, which will assist in its conversations with people. With these tools, hitchBot is able to know its exact location and plan its journey accordingly.



“Usually, we are concerned whether we can trust robots, but this project takes it the other way around and asks, can robots trust human beings?” says Zeller. “We expect hitchBOT to be charming and trustworthy enough in its conversation to secure rides through Canada.” 



Hitchbot has only one moving part, the hitchhiking arm. According to Zeller, the robot was intended to have a certain look, “like somebody has cobbled together odds and ends to make the robot, such as pool noodles, bucket, cake saver, garden gloves, Wellies, and so forth.” 



The robot also has the capability to tweet, play trivia games and help bake desserts, which should help it in its cross-country quest.