“Chicago sidewalks are for people, not delivery robots,” so says a petition that seeks to rid the city’s streets of the wheel-based contraptions.
Two robot companies — Coco and Serve — are operating the diminutive robots on Chicago sidewalks, transporting meals to customers.
Launched in November, the online petition currently has more than 1,200 signatures from people throughout the city who want the robots banished.
Josh Robertson, the guy behind the petition, told CBS News that when the robots first arrived, he actually felt some excitement at seeing them trundling along the sidewalk because it looked like a glimpse of the future.
But when he actually he came up against one during a stroll, he found himself instinctively moving out of the way, despite the sidewalk being primarily for pedestrians … not wheel-based robots.
Concerned about their impact on both safety and jobs, Robertson launched a campaign calling for more information to be released about the robots.
He said that some folks in wheelchairs or those using crutches have found the machines to be a nuisance, while one guy, Anthony Jonas, ended up in hospital after colliding with one.
“I stumbled over it, and I whacked my eyelid against the visibility flag that’s attached to the robot,” Jonas told CBS News. “Blood and urgent care, stitches — the whole thing.”
Online forums have also been discussing the delivery-robot situation in Chicago, with one commenter asking, “If I knock them over, will I get in trouble?” while another says simply: “I hate them. I tell them that I hate them.”
With the robots containing multiple cameras for navigation, privacy advocates also have concerns about surveillance and data collection in public areas.
One of the delivery robot companies, Coco, has said it’s happy to meet with Robertson to discuss his concerns and those of other residents, though it may have a hard job convincing him to change his position.
Compact delivery robots like Coco’s have actually been around for years, operated by numerous companies in an increasingly competitive sector.
But some cities, such as San Francisco, have seen the authorities push back, putting caps on robot numbers and restricting them to places with little pedestrian traffic.
Whether Robertson’s petition can persuade officials in Chicago to go the same way remains to be seen.