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BAD things happen to GOOD robots in America: hitchBot DECAPITATED

Road ends in Philadelphia for friendly tin hitcher

hitchBOT, the small robot that hitch-hiked across Canada last year, has been decapitated in Philadelphia.

HitchBOT was an experiment in human attitudes to robots. The creation's creators give it an online bucket list and hoped that it's smiling LED face and written instructions would induce people to drive it in the direction of its ultimate destination.

The experiment worked for a trip across Canada and another through Germany.

But a US adventure that kicked off on July 17th came to a decidedly nasty end over the weekend when someone decided to lop off the bot's head and remove all its electronics instead of giving it a ride.

“Unfortunately, hitchBOT was vandalized overnight in Philadelphia; sometimes bad things happen to good robots,” writes the bot's “family.”

The identity of the barbarians behind the beheading is not know, but the boffins behind the experiment say “We have no interest in pressing charges or finding the people who vandalized hitchBOT; we wish to remember the good times, and we encourage hitchBOT’s friends and fans to do the same.”

Those good times live on in the 'bot's Facebook and other social feeds. ®

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