A beloved hitchhiking robot only lasted 2 weeks in America before it was destroyed by vandals

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All hitchBOT wanted to do was see the world, but the robot's travels were cut short when it was vandalized and ultimately destroyed upon reaching Philadelphia after only 2 weeks traveling in the states.

The bot had already successfully traveled through Canada, The Netherlands, and Germany "without incident," CityPaper reports.

It's a sad story.

hitchBOT, which started in Canada, was an awesome experiment. The robot was unleashed, depending on the kindness of others to "to pick it up, drive it a distance, and drop it off, leaving the intelligent machine to be picked up by other science-minded folks."

The robot made lots of friends and fans along the way. Its Instagram account has about 18,000 followers, and his Facebook page has about 80,000 fans. People were encouraged to upload photos of hitchBOT if they encountered the traveling robot. Kids especially loved it.

It was on Facebook when fans learned of the sad news. "Oh dear, my body was damaged, but I live on back home and with all my friends," the post reads. "I guess sometimes bad things happen to good robots! My trip must come to an end for now, but my love for humans will never fade. Thank you to all my friends."

According to CityPaper: "... hitchBOT's designers even insist it had a personality that liked music, listening to people talk about philosophy, and, of course, traveling and meeting new people."

The designers are hopeful this is not the absolute end of hitchBOT.