A hitchhiking robot is embarking on what its creators hope will be a coast-to-coast social experiment as it attempts to secure rides from kind-hearted drivers travelling west.

On July 27, the anthropomorphic robot -- named hitchBOT -- will be placed roadside near NSCAD University in Halifax, where its co-creators, Frauke Zeller and David Harris Smith, hope it will be picked up by motorists willing to let a hunk of machinery and wires ride shotgun.

The goal, they say, is that hitchBOT reaches a gallery space in British Columbia.

hitchBOT is considered part art project and social experiment, says Zeller, who is an assistant professor at Ryerson University. “It’s an art project to really see how people respond to robots.”

The real experiment is less about geography, and more about finding out if hitchBOT can survive such a trip without being trashed or stolen.

The creators say they are posing the question of whether robots, which are often portrayed in pop culture as untrustworthy killers destined to destroy mankind, should trust humans.

“Usually we are concerned whether we can trust robots. But this project takes it the other way around and asks: Can robots trust human beings?” Zeller said in a statement announcing the project in June.

hitchBOT is deliberately made of cheap parts, including pool noodles, a bucket and rubber boots -- all items the creators figure strangers won’t steal when the robot starts to hitchhike.

And other than its one hitchhiking arm, hitchBOT isn’t mobile. “The robot is wholly dependent on people,” Zeller said.

The robot will be tracked using GPS and a wireless data connection. It will tweet and take pictures along the way, with a solar panel helping to generate power.

hitchBOT is not 100 per cent operational yet, but the goal is that it’ll be able to carry out a basic conversation with people. It will answer questions by crafting responses based on a Wikipedia database and conversational dialogue models. A microphone and camera will allow it to detect motion and speech.

The journey hasn’t even begun, yet hitchBOT is already gaining international attention.

“Americans are looking at Canadians and commenting, ‘Well, that makes sense, because Canadians are crazy,” said Harris Smith.

You can follow it on its journey on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and on its website: www.hitchbot.me.