Monday, July 7, 2025

June 20, 2016

Russian Robot Escapes Factory – Cruises The Streets [Video]

During a mobile robot's testing phase someone left the gate open. This allowed the Promobot to head out and cause some mischief,

Over in Perm, Russia, a robot was able to escape the research lab out of which it was born and go for a wander in the city.

And then it stopped in the middle of the road and caused some slight confusion with local drivers – although it’s not the worst Russian-driving video I have seen.

The robot goes by the name of Promobot, and was being taught to move around on its own when a worker reportedly “left the gate open”.

I guess no one thought it would be that adventurous. After travelling 164 feet [50 metres], it ceased to move when its battery ran out.

Others, however, are doubtful. Here’s to a crazy Monday morning theory:

An alternative theory is that the robot was fed up with its human overlords and decided to end its life in protest by standing in traffic. Maybe it heard about the abusive conditions at Boston Dynamics.

But some Russian media is skeptical, claiming that this was just a clever marketing stunt to garner attention for the humanoid robot. After all, the Promobot company did post a video of the incident to its YouTube channel.

The robot was in the middle of the road for approximately 30 minutes before anyone noticed it was gone.

[source: mashable]