An infamous intelligent robot that escaped from his lab twice has shaken hands with Vladimir Putin. The Russian president was touring an IT exhibition in Perm, which is becoming known as the country’s Silicon Valley, when he met Promobot.
The big-eyed, Russian-made machine is said to have immediately recognised Putin and enthusiastically introduced himself with a handshake.
Promobot is used as a guide, model and promotional salesman across Russia and keeps a database of prominent public figures.
However, the android has hit the headlines in the last year for his escape attempts.
Last year the rogue robot was arrested at a political rally when he was supporting Russian Parliament candidate Valery Kalachev in Moscow. Authorities attempted to handcuff Promobot and take him away.
It is believed that the arrest occurred after a member of public called police as Promobots were recording the opinions of voters on a variety of topics “for further processing and analysis by the candidate’s team.”
The robot has hit the headlines in the past, when it escaped from its lab and walked out into oncoming traffic – twice.
It caused chaos on the streets after getting halfway across the road before its batteries ran out, leaving it stranded in the middle of the carriageway.
The robot was on the road outside the research lab for more than an hour as vehicles tried to manoeuvre their way around it.