Sarah Scanlan

USA TODAY

Did your mom ever tell you it's dangerous to pick up hitch-hikers? Well, she might forgive you for giving this adorable passenger a lift. Meet hitchBOT: the galosh-wearing, crosscountry-traveling robot who's thumbing his way across Canada this summer. Watch the video above to see some of the things hitchBOT has experienced on his journey so far.

Canadian professors Dr. Frauke Zeller and Dr. David Smith, who together conceived the idea of hitchBOT, say they like to put robots in situations you might not ordinarily think of. They recruited a team of professors, engineers, mechatronics experts and social media gurus to complete their project.

"That's the thing I really love about the project. We were able to attract people from all kind of disciplines," said Zeller.

Their goal? Find out if robots can trust human beings. So far, they've been rewarded with positive results. They've been monitoring hitchBOT's journey by tracking social media posts of those who cross its paths.

Not only are drivers giving the robot a lift, in some cases they're going above and beyond. "Occasionally we'll get questions from drivers or people interacting with the bot about its power supply system," said Smith. "One person called the information center where hitchBOT was waiting and made sure hitchBOT got some power," added Zeller. "I think that is just amazing."

Selfies with the bot are streaming into Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as stories detailing encounters. "It's been fun and it's really changed the way we think about robots," said Brian Saulnier who, was the first to pick up hitchBOT.

Smith says the project has been so successful, one shouldn't be surprised to meet hitchBOT in the U.S. or other countries outside Canada in the future.