Canada's hitchhiking robot puts human trust to the test

A talking robot assembled from household odds and ends is hitchhiking thousands of kilometres across Canada this summer as part of a social experiment to see if those of its kind can trust humans.

"Society is usually concerned with whether we can trust robots," said Frauke Zeller, co-creator of the hitchBOT.

Hollywood movies such as and often depict machines as enemies of mankind, according to the assistant professor at Toronto's Ryerson University.

But, she noted, the opposite is true of hitchBOT. "This project turns our fear of technology on its head and asks, 'Can robots trust humans?'" Zeller said. "Our aim is to further discussion in society about our relationship with technology and robots, and notions of safety and trust."

Zeller and fellow professor David Smith, of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, along with a team of specialists, designed hitchBOT to be fully dependent on people.

And hitchBOT certainly has what it takes to charm its way into people's hearts.

It can strike up a conversation and can answer trivia questions by consulting information using its built-in computers. And it will even tell you when it is tired and in need of recharging from your car's cigarette lighter.