A special, uninvited robot rolled into a Calgary couple’s wedding on the weekend and by all accounts was the life of the party.
Julie Branch and Kyle Shepherd got hitched near Golden, B.C. and were a little surprised when a hitchhiking robot showed up for the celebration.
“I first saw it when we were at the head table eating dinner and I looked back and there’s these big glowing eyes looking at me and I’m like oh my goodness and so I went and took a closer look but it was actually kind of cute and everyone was so happy it was there that we just went with it,” said Julie.
It turns out that a few of the invited guests found the free-loading gadget at the B.C. boundary and decided to bring it along.
“There was a tweet from, I guess, the previous person saying they just passed him off and they were going to miss him,” said Kyle.
The robot named hitchBOT is travelling across the country relying on the kindness of human drivers to get from coast to coast.
The trivia-loving robot can communicate with people who pick it up and drivers can ask it about its creation and personal history.
“It is a little weird. Because it was just laying against the wall, but we just went with it because on the wedding day, we kind of had this pact, that we’re going to have fun, it doesn’t matter what happens, what goes wrong, we’re just going to have a great day,” said Julie.
“I heard from some guests today that during some of the speeches it started talking so they tried to unplug him, but I guess he was charged and he kept chattering on and mumbling throughout the speeches.
The project was started by a pair of researchers in Port Credit, Ontario and the robot is equipped with GPS and 3G wireless technology so researchers can keep track of it.
hitchBOT started its journey in Halifax at the end of July and will finish at the Open Space artist-run centre in Victoria.
To follow hitchBOT’s journey, click HERE.
(With files from Scott McLean)
