http://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2015/08/robot-depending-on-kindness-of-strangers-meets-its-demise-in-philadelphia/
QuoteRobot depending on kindness of strangers meets its demise in Philadelphia
HitchBOT interacted with humans through speech, tested "whether robots could trust" us.
On July 17, a smiling and seemingly harmless robot named HitchBOT set out to accomplish its dream—roadtripping across America through the kindness of strangers. The little fellow comes from a Canadian research team made up of students and professors at McMaster, Ryerson, and the University of Toronto, and in 2014 it managed to make a similar trek across Canada and parts of Europe. The whole goal, according to the team, was simple: "to see whether robots could trust humans."
Tragically, about two weeks later, little HitchBOT learned a rough life lesson. According to the Associated Press, the bot met its demise in Philadelphia, home of sports fans who notoriously have thrown batteries at opposing players or snowballs at Santa Claus. At the time of this article, the specifics of what happened to HitchBOT remain unknown. Its creators are attempting to investigate, and HitchBOT's official site states details should be made available on August 5.
"The creators were sent an image of the vandalized robot Saturday but cannot track its location because the battery is dead," the Associated Press reported. "They said they don't know who destroyed it or why. But co-creator Frauke Zeller said many children who adored the robot are now heartbroken."
Buzzfeed Canada spoke to HitchBOT's creators, Zeller and David Harris Smith, to confirm an image going around of the fallen robot, depicting HitchBOT strewn out in the streets with limbs detached (warning: image may be graphic if you're unsettled by the sight of robot violence). "We decided not to publish it," Zeller told Buzzfeed. "It's upsetting—you can see how it has been taken apart and left in the street."
HitchBOT started its journey in Massachusetts and it traversed through Boston, Salem, Gloucester, Marblehead, parts of Rhode Island, and New York City. Its untimely end means it will never reach its destination—San Francisco's Exploratorium. According to the trip's press release [PDF], the bot couldn't move on its own but it did interact with humans utilizing Cleverscript speech technology (yes, the same stuff that has attempted to top the Turing Test. Hence why HitchBOT listed "trivia" as a hobby in its about me). The robot was three feet tall and weighed about 25 pounds (so it took some effort to pick up), and it came equipped with its interaction tech (camera vision, a microphone, and a speaker system), 3G and GPS capabilities, and an external battery meter (so it could juice up in cigarette lighters or outlets).
HitchBOT had a bucket list for its American journey, including things like seeing Times Square or simply "VEGAS!" On Friday July 24, the bot managed to find hosts with decent tickets at Fenway Park for the Red Sox versus the Detroit Tigers. If you ever make it back to the states and down to New Orleans, HitchBOT, consider this an offer to make good on that dream of local jazz.
HitchBOT represented the most high-profile attempt by a robot to hitchhike across the US to date. In contrast, humans have attempted this feat countless times and occasionally succeed without encountering robot violence.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbc.ca%2Fnews2%2Finteractives%2Fhitchbot%2Fhitchbot.jpg&hash=db543fb325e3977ceab3ce29d89d192d52196968)
(https://i.embed.ly/1/display/resize?key=1e6a1a1efdb011df84894040444cdc60&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpbs.twimg.com%2Fmedia%2FBtoYHOEIgAEx-cL.jpg)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CLXII37WcAAts-l.jpg)
:(
Canadians :rolleyes:
I have a feeling such a robot won't go very far in China.
Kind of reminds me of that Italian woman who wanted to hitchhike across Europe and Middle-East in a wedding dress but was raped and killed in Turkey. People are not trustworthy.
Quote from: Brezel on August 03, 2015, 01:38:15 AM
Kind of reminds me of that Italian woman who wanted to hitchhike across Europe and Middle-East in a wedding dress but was raped and killed in Turkey. People are not trustworthy.
I also have the impression that hitch-hiking is a western thing. It is quite rare in China to hitch-hike. I've never seen any hitch-hikers in Hong Kong.
Quote from: Monoriu on August 03, 2015, 01:49:51 AM
Quote from: Brezel on August 03, 2015, 01:38:15 AM
Kind of reminds me of that Italian woman who wanted to hitchhike across Europe and Middle-East in a wedding dress but was raped and killed in Turkey. People are not trustworthy.
I also have the impression that hitch-hiking is a western thing. It is quite rare in China to hitch-hike. I've never seen any hitch-hikers in Hong Kong.
And in poor countries. Several friends have explained it's a common mode of transportation in rural Cuba.
Quote from: Monoriu on August 03, 2015, 01:13:01 AM
I have a feeling such a robot won't go very far in China.
Robot penis soup?
Quote from: Syt on August 03, 2015, 01:53:43 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on August 03, 2015, 01:49:51 AM
Quote from: Brezel on August 03, 2015, 01:38:15 AM
Kind of reminds me of that Italian woman who wanted to hitchhike across Europe and Middle-East in a wedding dress but was raped and killed in Turkey. People are not trustworthy.
I also have the impression that hitch-hiking is a western thing. It is quite rare in China to hitch-hike. I've never seen any hitch-hikers in Hong Kong.
And in poor countries. Several friends have explained it's a common mode of transportation in rural Cuba.
I saw some hitch-hikers when I drove in France.
Quote from: Syt on August 03, 2015, 01:53:43 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on August 03, 2015, 01:49:51 AM
Quote from: Brezel on August 03, 2015, 01:38:15 AM
Kind of reminds me of that Italian woman who wanted to hitchhike across Europe and Middle-East in a wedding dress but was raped and killed in Turkey. People are not trustworthy.
I also have the impression that hitch-hiking is a western thing. It is quite rare in China to hitch-hike. I've never seen any hitch-hikers in Hong Kong.
And in poor countries. Several friends have explained it's a common mode of transportation in rural Cuba.
Depends on the country, in some poor countries that's safe, and in others it's not.
Quote from: Martinus on August 03, 2015, 01:54:10 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on August 03, 2015, 01:13:01 AM
I have a feeling such a robot won't go very far in China.
Robot penis soup?
Got to capture it and put it to work in a factory.
Compared to the third world (e.g. Sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia), hitch-hiking is extremely rare in Europe.
Philly is a terrible place. I'd rather travel Cambodia than South Philly.
Another moderate dentist. :rolleyes:
He asked for motor oil on his cheesesteak instead of American or Provolone. :(
Quote from: Caliga on August 03, 2015, 08:58:12 AM
He asked for motor oil on his cheesesteak instead of American or Provolone. :(
Isn't American cheese mostly made from motor oil anyway?
Quote from: Ancient Demon on August 03, 2015, 12:56:00 PM
Quote from: Caliga on August 03, 2015, 08:58:12 AM
He asked for motor oil on his cheesesteak instead of American or Provolone. :(
Isn't American cheese mostly made from motor oil anyway?
No. :huh:
Hitch hiking is very common in eastern europe.
In Cluj I saw loads of people hanging out next to the main road out of the city. I asked a local about this and she said that its the typical place for people trying to hitch a ride hang out. Apparently its such a problem they've made it illegal....though it hasn't been enforced very well.
Quote from: Ancient Demon on August 03, 2015, 12:56:00 PM
Quote from: Caliga on August 03, 2015, 08:58:12 AM
He asked for motor oil on his cheesesteak instead of American or Provolone. :(
Isn't American cheese mostly made from motor oil anyway?
Maybe the fancy brands, but most are made from a cheap substitute.
Velveeta's new 93 octane goes great on tortilla chips.
Cheese dip without salsa sucks.
Quote from: DGuller on August 03, 2015, 01:59:19 PM
Quote from: Ancient Demon on August 03, 2015, 12:56:00 PM
Quote from: Caliga on August 03, 2015, 08:58:12 AM
He asked for motor oil on his cheesesteak instead of American or Provolone. :(
Isn't American cheese mostly made from motor oil anyway?
Maybe the fancy brands, but most are made from a cheap substitute.
:lol:
Quote from: Caliga on August 03, 2015, 01:10:57 PM
It's always sunny there.
They actually used one of my uncle's restaurants for exterior shots for that show. :)
On-topic, it's probably Luddites getting pissed off about the CITC (yet ANOTHER Comcast skyscraper) being built there. :P
A thought : in future movies about evil ais deciding to destroy humanity will pictures of this incident be used as part of an ai deciding to do so?
Kinda related experiment from Japan:
http://www.geek.com/news/robot-learns-how-to-avoid-bullies-escape-physical-abuse-1630543/
QuoteRobot learns how to avoid bullies, escape physical abuse
It's said that prejudice is a learned behavior and not one children are naturally inclined to. Maybe that's the case within our own species, but let a robot loose around a group of kids, and it tells a very different story. Researchers in Tokyo noticed that young children, primarily those in kindergarten to fifth grade, had a tendency to inflict abuse upon the machine, ranging from simple taunts to outright physical harm. The severity depended on one major factor — whether a parent or adult was present.
The engineers placed a droid-like robot in a mall, with no agenda or programming other than to freely move about the floor. As with any busy shopping center, you often have to navigate your way around people, and more precisely, their children as you amble about to your next spending destination. While in most cases when the robot met with one of these three-foot obstructions, the children happily obliged and moved out of its way.
There were some kids, however, that didn't take kindly to the metallic foreigner. Video showed children who would point and laugh at the robot, while others created a human force field around it; not allowing it to move forward. It escalated to hitting, kicking, and even throwing things. One major piece of programming the robot had was not to advance when faced with an obstacle, so it did nothing to protect itself or alter its course.
Another disturbing thing was documented: the more children present, the more abuse was inflicted upon the robot. It appears that a group mentality would entice the tykes to escalate the attacks. The robot, regardless if it was lifelike in appearance, is seen as a non-human and either a threat or more likely, an easy target for young kids who are still learning the nuances of social behavior.
The research team took note of this and reprogrammed the robot with an algorithm that would help it detect the level of violence a child may inflict upon it based on the interaction time and proximity of said child. When faced with this threat, the robot would alter its course to a more densely populated area, or if it detected an adult nearby, would head towards that direction. The key being finding a person, or groups of people, taller than four feet, six inches, which the robot was programmed to define as an adult. Then the robot would wait until it felt safe enough to move on.
The team spoke with the children afterwards about why they attacked the robot. 22% said they did it out of curiosity, 17% said they joined in because of their peers, a staggering 35% said they physically assaulted the robot out of enjoyment, and one child said "he explicitly intended to threaten the robot." The study also concluded that over half of the kids believed the robot was aware of the pain they inflicted on it.
In short, many of these kids lacked any empathy for the robot. This is very similar to findings from children that exhibit traits of animal abuse. While the robot may be seen as having the capacity to feel pain, and even awareness of said pain, it did not stop some of these children from attacking it. The team concluded that more studies need to be done to see is a more physical human-like appearance would engender more empathy for the robot.
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Kids are assholes. Film at 11.
Chillax. It's just a pile of plastic and metal.
Lesson learned in the Japanese experiment is to make robots more menacing to deter kids from abusing them.
Quote from: Martinus on August 09, 2015, 04:29:14 PM
Kids are assholes. Film at 11.
Hey it did say most of the kids didn't abuse it. Just saying.
Granted my boys would have taken that little droid bastard down.
I'm disappointed those kids did not try to hack the robot into a kiiling machine.