“Chicago's sidewalks are for people, not delivery robots,” says a petition aimed at ridding the city's streets of wheeled devices.
Two robotics companies, Coco and Serve, are using miniature robots on Chicago sidewalks to deliver food to customers.
Launched in November, online petition currently has over 1,200 signatures from people across the city who want the robots banished.
Josh Robertson, author of the petition, told CBS News that when the robots first arrived, he actually felt some excitement to see them rolling down the sidewalk because it was like a glimpse of the future.
But when he came across one of them while walking, he instinctively stepped aside, despite the fact that the sidewalk is primarily intended for pedestrians… and not for wheeled robots.
Concerned about their impact on safety and jobs, Robertson launched a campaign calling for more information about robots to be published.
He said some people in wheelchairs or who use crutches find the cars a nuisance, and one guy, Anthony Jonas, ended up in hospital after colliding with one.
“I tripped over it and hit my eyelid on the visibility flag attached to the robot,” Jonas told CBS News. “Blood and emergency care, stitches, all of it.”
The situation with delivery robots in Chicago is also being discussed in online forums, with one commenter asking, “If I hit them, will I get in trouble?” and the other says simply, “I hate them. I tell them I hate them.”
Because the robots are equipped with multiple cameras for navigation, privacy advocates are also concerned about surveillance and data collection in public places.
One delivery robot company, Coco, said it was happy to meet with Robertson to discuss his concerns and those of other residents, although it may have a hard time convincing him to change his position.
Compact delivery robots like Coco have actually been around for many yearsoperated by numerous companies in an increasingly competitive sector.
But in some cities, such as San Francisco, officials are fighting back, limiting the number of robots and limiting them to areas with little foot traffic.
Whether Robertson's petition can persuade officials in Chicago to follow a similar path remains to be seen.
