Why, Philadelphia? Why?
The hitchhiking Canadian robot's story has come to an untimely end, as its owners have found it dead and dismembered, lying in the gutter in Philadelphia.
HitchBot was on a friendly mission to hitchhike across America, and had even been programmed to hold limited conversations. It was intended to be a social experiment, as well as a testimony to the human spirit of generosity and altruism, as well as being utterly charming.
And it was. Until it tried to hitch a ride through the City of Brotherly Love.
Although the robot's team refused to release pictures of the remains on the grounds that it might be upsetting to children, the local NBC affiliate jumped right on that bandwagon and published them anyway (see above).
HitchBot had successfully traveled across Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands before meeting its demise. R.I.P., HitchBot.