The Hitchhiking Robot

Canada's hitchhiking robot, parasite tintypes, Patagonia's weed wetsuit and more in our weekly look at the web

Here’s one hitchhiker we can safely endorse picking up. The hitchBOT is part of a Canadian university’s research project examining the changing relationship between humans and technology. Equipped with 3G and GPS, the wandering solar-powered bot is making its way across Canada entirely by voluntary pick-ups. Follow the journey on social media where hitchBOT can be seen in selfies with new highway buddies.

Parasite Tintypes

Canada's hitchhiking robot, parasite tintypes, Patagonia's weed wetsuit and more in our weekly look at the web

Lice, ticks and fleas don’t typically lend themselves to beautiful portraiture, but photographer Marcus DeSieno has cast the pests in a different light through a combination of electron microscope technology and dry plate gelatin ferrotypes. The images are then enlarged and printed in large format (four feet), allowing the viewer to take on the monstrous forms and appreciate their complex anatomy.

An Artsy Instagram Takeover

Canada's hitchhiking robot, parasite tintypes, Patagonia's weed wetsuit and more in our weekly look at the web

East London-based set designer Anna Lomax’s eye for color, movement and the bizarre has made her a hot commodity for big name brands and magazines. Most recently, she’s created some unusual 3D infographics for the smart women’s magazine Riposte—and this week, she took over the Riposte Instagram with “things I’ve made, things I’ve seen and things I’m buying or want.” Thus far, one of her …