Robot makes bid for freedom from Russian lab

A robot programmed to move around independently has escaped from a Russian laboratory after an engineer forgot to shut a gate.

The semi-humanoid robot managed to reach a nearby street before running out of batteries, blocking off traffic in the city of Perm earlier this week.

The mechanised escapee spent a total of 40 minutes at-large but only travelled about 50m, local paper Argumenty I Fakty reports.

Amateur footage shows a police officer standing beside the immobile android before a laboratory staffer rushes out to wheel it back inside.

The robot is programmed to give people directions when asked, which was ironic given it was blocking the road for about half an hour.

Some Russian media outlets have suggested the escape was a publicity stunt, but tech site Mashable instead posited the robot was fed up with its human overlords.