Professor Erik Sanchez, who holds a Ph.D in physics, said Robbie The Rover was a donated robot that he used to teach students at the university's Nano Development Lab about programming, KPTV, Portland, reported Tuesday.

Sanchez said the robot was taken from his car Sunday night after he had mistakenly left it unlocked. "You feel kind of weird when suddenly you look in the car and the thing that is worth more than the car is missing," he said.

The professor and his students said that the robot would be useless to its abductors, but in the laboratory the 90-pound device can be made to pull a truck or perform equal feats of mental strength.

"It can actually think to some degree," Sanchez said.

He said no questions would be asked if Robbie The Rover is returned undamaged.

"Just return it and everything is fine," he said.