Even robots can have a bad day apparently. In what at first seemed like an unusual occurrence, a delivery robot crashed through a plate of glass on a bus shelter in Chicago. However, it turned out not to be that unusual, because a few days later, it happened again.
And no, it wasn’t the same robot, ruling out the possibility of just one rogue robot with really poor eyesight. The crashes occurred in different parts of Chicago, with both incidents resulting in shattered glass but no reported injuries.
The first crash took place in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood near the intersection of Grand and Racine. A small, wheeled delivery robot operated by Serve Robotics drove directly into the glass panel of a CTA bus shelter, shattering it on impact.
Video footage of the incident quickly spread across social media, showing the robot continuing to move around amid broken glass after the collision. The robot, part of a pilot program testing autonomous delivery services, appeared unable to detect or avoid the transparent barrier.
Just days later, a second incident occurred in the Old Town area near North Avenue and Larrabee Street. This time, a robot operated by Coco Robotics crashed into another bus shelter, again breaking through the glass.
Both companies are currently operating as part of Chicago’s pilot program for autonomous delivery devices, which allows small robots to transport food and other goods on city sidewalks.
While delivery robots travel at relatively low speeds, these two incidents demonstrate that you don’t have to moving that fast to go crashing through glass when you’re made out of metal. A human delivery person attempting this would likely have wound up flat on his back with a nasty bump on his head.
Join the Discussion