Enlarge / This Kiwibot robot is waiting to be loaded with my muffin. Afterward, a worker carried it across the street on the scooter. (credit: Timothy B. Lee)

I’d been following the robot for about five minutes when it seemed to get hopelessly lost.

The four-wheeled vehicle, the size and shape of a large cooler, was navigating the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC. A digital display on the front showed a pair of pixellated cartoon eyes, but the robot was struggling to understand its surroundings.

The robot repeatedly stopped, turned around, retraced its steps, and turned again. When it reached an intersection, it seemed afraid to cross the street. Instead, it turned around and went back for some 200 feet before freezing once again.