You expect traffic jams on Chicago streets. You probably do not expect one on the sidewalk caused by a bunch of food delivery robots. That is exactly what runner Becca Ostien encountered near Lincoln Park. At least a dozen Coco delivery robots had gathered along North Clark Street, leaving her to navigate what looked like a miniature robot traffic jam.
The strange scene quickly spread online. Yet behind the viral video sits a bigger question about the growing number of delivery robots rolling through American cities. What happens when the technology designed to make deliveries easier starts getting in your way?
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UBER EATS DRONE DELIVERY COULD SOON REACH YOUR HOME
Ostien regularly travels through the area near Lincoln Park. During a recent morning outing, she came across a group of Coco robots clustered together on the sidewalk. Some appeared to be trying to maneuver out of the group. Others remained stationary.
Ostien described the robots as “swarming” and said someone without agile feet would have had trouble getting through. Video of the encounter shows roughly a dozen robots packed into a narrow stretch of sidewalk. Their lights flashed as they moved around one another with nowhere obvious to go.
That may look funny for a few seconds on social media. For someone who depends on a clear pedestrian route, the situation can become far more serious. One commenter described the scene as “an actual nightmare” for a disabled person. Other reactions raised concerns about people using wheelchairs or walkers trying to get through.
Coco Robotics acknowledged the problem and apologized. In a statement to CyberGuy, Coco said a “sidewalk deployment error” caused several robots to reroute at the same time as they left their station to begin their daily routes.
“That’s not how our robots are designed to operate, and we understand the disruption it caused,” Coco told CyberGuy. The company said its team identified and corrected the problem quickly, clearing the robots and returning them to normal operation within minutes.
“We’ve since solved the routing behavior that led to this and added safeguards to prevent it from recurring,” the company said. Coco called the situation rare and said it has completed tens of thousands of trips during its two years operating in Chicago.
The company also estimates those deliveries have saved consumers roughly $500,000, created skilled fleet-maintenance jobs and reduced vehicle traffic.
ROBOT DOG COULD DELIVER YOUR NEXT PACKAGE AND AN AD
The Lincoln Park pileup did not happen in a vacuum. Delivery robots have been operating in Chicago through a pilot program, and the rollout has already faced resistance from some residents.
Petitions have called for the city to pause the program. There have also been documented crashes involving delivery robots and bus shelters.
Those incidents help explain why another viral robot problem can quickly trigger frustration. The technology off
