Unusual sight on one of Australia's busiest strips leaves locals scratching their heads: 'What in the Black Mirror'

Published: 03:07, 22 April 2026 | Updated: 03:08, 22 April 2026 A robot has been spotted cutting a casual figure on one of Melbourne's busiest strips. Frank From Future was captured on a stroll along Chapel Street last week, attracting the attention of dozens of confused commuters.  The robot made its way past multiple popular stores including ELK Conscious Fashion, Marimekko, Stephanie Browne Australia and SpudBAR.  A man was seen double-taking the robot as he passed by.  Frank from Future is known to roam the streets of Melbourne, having visited restaurants, night clubs, a shoe store, and a barbershop.  Aussies were quick to poke fun at the robot.  'He's ChatGPT, he's my therapist,' one person said.  'This would send me straight into psychosis,' a second said.  A robot has been spotted cutting a casual figure on one of Melbourne's busiest strips The famous robot is pictured enjoying a schooner of beer at the Godby Hotel in Melbourne A woman was spotted walking her $2,500 robot in Glenelg, Adelaide in late 2024 'When the f*** did we get robots?' a third commented.  'Nah what in the black mirror is this s***,' a fourth agreed.  But it wasn't the first time a robot was seen meandering along a busy street. A woman was spotted walking her robot in Glenelg, Adelaide in late 2024, with the device's 'leashed mode' allowing the machine to act like a real dog.  The Unitree Go2, which has a retail price beginning at $2,500, promises users 'scientific and technological sovereignty' with its 'embodied AI'. It comes after a warning from Australian billionaire Gerry Harvey that robots and AI are set to increasingly take on customer service roles in stores alongside human staff. He told Business Weekend exactly what customers could expect from the robots.  'I guarantee you we will have a robot in the front door in the next year or two,' he said. 'When you come in you'll have the choice of talking to the robot or you talk to the salesperson or you can talk to both.' 'It'll be an experience walking into our shops and people will (say) "Wow, the robot welcomed me in and then I talked to another robot and then there was another robot over there and another salesperson helping there".' Many Aussies were against the idea, saying they would avoid the robot stores.  'No thanks. We will be shopping elsewhere when that happens,' one wrote, with another agreeing: 'No more Harvey Norman for me'.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.