The robot that’s already gone rogue twice got arrested this week.
At a Sept. 15 rally for Russian parliamentary candidate Valery Kalachev in Moscow, authorities attempted to handcuff Promobot and whisk it away from the scene, according to the Mirror. The arrest reportedly occurred after someone at the event called the police because it was recording the opinions of voters for “processing and analysis.”
“Police asked to remove the robot away from the crowded area, and even tried to handcuff him,” a Promobot representative told Inverse magazine. “According to eyewitnesses, the robot did not put up any resistance.” (Maybe the robot uprising isn’t here quite yet.)
Promobot was created to fulfill a customer service role, designed to engage and interact with humans, answer questions, and promote products at events. Skeptics surmise that its antics are merely promotional stunts to drum up excitement for the product.
In June this year, the robot escaped from a research lab in the town of Perm, Russia after an engineer at forgot to shut a gate. The runaway bot got about 50m (164ft) before it ran out of power, causing a traffic jam. When it repeated the incident again a few days later, its makers reportedly considered putting the project to rest.
But as this latest episode shows, it’s still alive and kicking—and perhaps eyeing a career in politics.