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The Death and Lives of hitchBOT: The Design and Implementation of a Hitchhiking Robot

Smith, D. H.; Zeller, F.

Authors

D. H. Smith



Abstract

In the early morning hours of 1 August 2015, as it waited for its next ride on a Philly park bench, unknown assailants destroyed hitchBOT. Arms torn from its body, legs broken, gutted of its electronics, it was left discarded in a park, minus its smiley-face LED head. Around the world headlines announced the death of a much-loved robot, children and adults shed tears, haters hated on Philadelphia, cartoonists and musicians paid tribute, journalists wrote obituaries and the publicly minded rallied to support a rebuild. The authors share the story of the life and times of their creation, hitchBOT the hitchhiking robot.

Citation

Smith, D. H., & Zeller, F. (2017). The Death and Lives of hitchBOT: The Design and Implementation of a Hitchhiking Robot. Leonardo, 50(1), 77-78. https://doi.org/10.1162/LEON_a_01354

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date 2017-02
Deposit Date Apr 28, 2023
Journal Leonardo
Print ISSN 0024-094X
Electronic ISSN 1530-9282
Publisher MIT Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 50
Issue 1
Pages 77-78
DOI https://doi.org/10.1162/LEON_a_01354
Public URL http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/3085921