--- title: Hitchhiking Robot HitchBOT Vandalized in Philadelphia description: A hitchhiking robot eager to explore America has met its demise just two weeks into its cross-country journey. canonical: https://time.com/3981411/hitchbot-robot-vandalized-philadelphia/ author: Jack Linshi article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-02T16:02:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:44:33.524Z article:section: Business og:title: Hitchhiking Robot That Crossed Nations Fails to Last 2 Weeks in U.S. og:description: Vandals in Philadelphia bring Hitchbot's adventure to an untimely end og:url: https://time.com/3981411/hitchbot-robot-vandalized-philadelphia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt098e60c6d9902854/69885d773c163976e945913b/hitch-bot.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: anthropomorphic robot hitchBOT og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Hitchhiking Robot That Crossed Nations Fails to Last 2 Weeks in U.S. twitter:description: Vandals in Philadelphia bring Hitchbot's adventure to an untimely end twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt098e60c6d9902854/69885d773c163976e945913b/hitch-bot.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Hitchhiking Robot That Crossed Nations Fails to Last 2 Weeks in U.S. ## Video: See How Robotics Are Disrupting What It Means to Be Disabled [Watch (HLS stream): See How Robotics Are Disrupting What It Means to Be Disabled](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MM0tk7XQ.m3u8) (4:21)  _Published 2015-07-28. At the Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL) in Pittsburgh, Pa., veterans, engineers, doctors and researchers are working together to improve the lives of people with disabilities._  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Aug 2, 2015 4:02 PM CUT  The anthropomorphic robot named hitchBOT, seen here during its cross-Canada trek in 2014, was destroyed on Aug. 1, 2015 two weeks into its attempted trip across the U.S., according to its creators The anthropomorphic robot named hitchBOT, seen here during its cross-Canada trek in 2014, was destroyed on Aug. 1, 2015 two weeks into its attempted trip across the U.S., according to its creatorsPaul Darrow—Reuters  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Aug 2, 2015 4:02 PM CUT A hitchhiking robot eager to explore America has met its demise just two weeks into its cross-country journey. HitchBOT was vandalized in Philadelphia overnight on Saturday after exploring parts of Massachusetts and New York, Canadian researchers [David Smith](http://m.hitchbot.me/meet-my-family/#David "undefined") and [Frauke Zeller](http://m.hitchbot.me/meet-my-family/#Frauke "undefined") shared on the project’s website. The friendly robot, who sports yellow polka dot boots and a smiley-face LED screen, had hoped American humans would shuttle it around the country to see Times Square, pose with the Lincoln Statue and tour Walt Disney World, among other destinations on its [bucket list.](http://m.hitchbot.me/usa/bucket-list/ "undefined") “Sometimes bad things happen to good robots,” HitchBot’s creators wrote. “We know that many of hitchBOT’s fans will be disappointed, but we want them to be assured that this great experiment is not over. For now we will focus on the question ‘what can be learned from this?’ and explore future adventures for robots and humans.” The hitchhiking robot is an experiment to see how humans interact with robots. HitchBOT previously journeyed across [Canada](http://m.hitchbot.me/about-me/canada/ "undefined") and [Germany](http://m.hitchbot.me/about-me/germany/ "undefined") without incident, in addition to enjoying a three-week vacation in the [Netherlands.](http://m.hitchbot.me/about-me/netherlands/ "undefined") ### These Human Robots Will Haunt Your Nightmares  The new humanoid robots named "Otonaroid" and "Kodomoroid" are pictured during a press preview at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Technology in Tokyo on June 24, 2014. Yoshikazu Tsuno—AFP/Getty Images  The new humanoid robots named "Otonaroid" and "Kodomoroid" are pictured during a press preview at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Technology in Tokyo on June 24, 2014. Nicolas Datiche—SIPA  Japanese actor Ken Matsudaira clad in a robot suit, smiles with an android robot in his likeness called "Real Android Matsuken" at a press presentation in Tokyo on November 19, 2013. Yoshikazu Tsuno—AFP/Getty Images  A woman watches a full-scale figure of a terminator robot "Cameron Phillipes" at a preview of the Terminator Exhibition in Tokyo on March 18, 2009. Yoshikazu Tsuno—AFP/Getty Images  Inventor Le Trung celebrates Christmas with his robot Aiko on December 23, 2009 in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Barcroft Media  A model pokes the face of "Geminoid-F", a humanoid robot shaped to resemble the model at a press conference in Osaka, Japan on April 3, 2010. Yoshikazu Tsuno—AFP/Getty Images  Telenoid is a teleoperated android robot with a minimal design, created as an attempt to embody the minimum physical requirements for humanlike communication during a press preview at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation Miraikan in Tokyo on June 24, 2014. Haruyoshi Yamaguchi—Corbis  A humanoid robot, HRP-4C, developed by Japan's Advanced Industrial Science and Technology shows off her skills during the Digital Contents Expo in Tokyo on October 22, 2009. Yoshikazu Tsuno—AFP/Getty Images  A Nippon Dental University Hospital staff member demonstrates a humanoid robot dental therapy simulator named "Simroid" at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo on November 9, 2011. Yoshikazu Tsuno—AFP/Getty Images  Andoroid Repliee Q2 (R) reacts as graduate student Motoko Noma touches her face at an exhibition during Core Technology Symposium in Tokyo on October 31, 2006. © Kiyoshi Ota / Reuters—REUTERS  Andoroid Repliee Q2 (L) faces graduate student Motoko Noma (R) at an exhibition during Core Technology Symposium in Tokyo on October 31, 2006. © Kiyoshi Ota / Reuters—REUTERS ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3981411/hitchbot-robot-vandalized-philadelphia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3981411/hitchbot-robot-vandalized-philadelphia/"},"headline":"Hitchhiking Robot That Crossed Nations Fails to Last 2 Weeks in U.S.","datePublished":"2015-08-02T16:02:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:44:33.524Z","description":"Vandals in Philadelphia bring Hitchbot's adventure to an untimely end","url":"https://time.com/3981411/hitchbot-robot-vandalized-philadelphia/","keywords":["Tech","Innovation"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt098e60c6d9902854/69885d773c163976e945913b/hitch-bot.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt098e60c6d9902854/69885d773c163976e945913b/hitch-bot.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"anthropomorphic robot hitchBOT","caption":"anthropomorphic robot hitchBOT","creditText":"Paul Darrow—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3981411/hitchbot-robot-vandalized-philadelphia/","name":"Hitchhiking Robot That Crossed Nations Fails to Last 2 Weeks in U.S."}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See How Robotics Are Disrupting What It Means to Be Disabled","description":"At the Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL) in Pittsburgh, Pa., veterans, engineers, doctors and researchers are working together to improve the lives of people with disabilities.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/MM0tk7XQ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-07-28T17:47:13.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MM0tk7XQ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3981411/hitchbot-robot-vandalized-philadelphia/","duration":"PT4M21S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3981411/hitchbot-robot-vandalized-philadelphia/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```