Fans demand justice for hitchBOT, 'killed' after only two weeks in US
People are looking for someone in Philadelphia who dismantled the beloved hitchBOT, which had been relying on the kindness of strangers to transport it across the country.
As pre-game activity begins, hitchBOT rests on the wall along the first base line before a baseball game at Fenway Park between the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers in Boston on July 24. The Canadian researchers who created hitchBOT as a social experiment say someone in Philadelphia damaged the robot beyond repair on Saturday, ending its brief American tour.
Charles Krupa/AP
It鈥檚 not always sunny in Philadephia.
Social media today is alight with tributes to hitchBOT, the beloved hitchhiking android that was reported mutilated in the city over the weekend.
Some of this attention has also escalated into anger toward Philadelphia, a city that, despite having a name that means "," is also known for having a mile-wide mean streak.聽People still recall, for instance, that Philadelphia Eagles game in 1968 when fans during a halftime show and pelted him with snowballs.
Jesse Wellens, a popular Philadelphia YouTube video-maker and prankster who had picked up the robot in the city on Friday night, took to Twitter in light of the news. 鈥淥f course Killadelphia Kills the Robot!鈥� he . 鈥淭hanks Philly!!! You freaking Killed @hitchBOT I鈥檓 so mad right now.鈥�
HitchBOT had been on its first American tour. The robot was just two weeks into its quest when on Saturday when it was decapitated and dumped it on the side of a road, reported . It had been hoping to reach San Francisco by summer鈥檚 end.
The robot鈥檚 journey had always been a gamble, according to its creators at Ryerson University in Toronto and McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Acting as an experiment of human kindness, hitchBOT relied on strangers to survive and be passed around.
Its creators had had big plans, making for the droid an American , only one item of which managed to be completed.
Now, users point out, hitchBOT will never 鈥渂e sleepless in Seattle.鈥� It will not, as they had hoped, 鈥渆xperience the magic of Walt Disney World, Florida.鈥�
The robot, outfitted with pool-noodle-arms, bright yellow Wellington rain boots, and an electronic smiley face, had already captured the delight of fans long before its American voyage, having successfully completed and .
Fans learned of hitchBOT鈥檚 demise on Saturday. Its creators have said they are not looking to find the people responsible for its attack. 鈥淲e have no interest in pressing charges 鈥� We wish to remember the good times, and we encourage hitchBOT鈥檚 friends and fans to do the same,鈥� they added.
That may be hard for some followers, who expressed heated demands for the mysterious vandals.
鈥淏ring hitchBOT鈥檚 murderers to justice!鈥� one fan.
鈥淭he hitchhiking robot has been destroyed by scumbags in Philly,鈥� tech website Gizmodo.
Fans have called for the release of security footage from the scene of its demise. But hitchBOT鈥檚 creators said its battery died beforehand, disabling the ability to track its location.
Not everyone is so heartbroken. 鈥淗itchBOT was just a big weakling who can鈥檛 handle America,鈥� one critic.
鈥淭his great experiment is not over,鈥� hitchBOT鈥檚 creators. 鈥淪ometimes bad things happen to good robots.鈥�