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Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

blockclubchicago.org

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Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#41

Post by miltonlost »

yieldcrv wrote: post #26
itsdesmond wrote: post #15

I live in a Chicago neighborhood where these are in use. They have very bright lights, actually blinding you as you approach one at night. They move much faster than is appropriate on a sidewalk. They position themselves in the middle of the sidewalk as opposed to the right hand side, impacting traffic in both directions. They round corners at intersections at below-eye-level, I’ve walked into more than one when they…

These are solved problems in other cities All anyone has to do is look across the land

How are these solved problems when robot deliveries on sidewalks are a new phenomenon? Also, what other cities?

Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#42

Post by ausbah »

boh wrote: post #21
crooked-v wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Recently there's been a lot of anger in San Francisco about a Waymo (which have an excellent safety record with humans) killing an outdoor cat who that walked under the car and sat in front of a tire, when not long after someone was killed by a person backing into a crosswalk and it was a barely a blip on the radar.

The person who killed the bystander has social/legal/financial ramifications. Google had zero. Anyone ever ask themselves why they have a knee-jerk impulse to support a billion dollar company's attempt at centralizing transportation?I'm sorry but safety and making your life easier isn't Silicon Valley's main concern.

if an animal runs into the road and is hit by a vehicle, as long as the driver safely stops after, i don’t think the driver is generally charged after afaik

Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#43

Post by CGMthrowaway »

itsdesmond wrote: post #15

I live in a Chicago neighborhood where these are in use. They have very bright lights, actually blinding you as you approach one at night. They move much faster than is appropriate on a sidewalk. They position themselves in the middle of the sidewalk as opposed to the right hand side, impacting traffic in both directions. They round corners at intersections at below-eye-level, I’ve walked into more than one when they…

The robots take 3 hours to get there too. Idk why anyone would want this for food at least

Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#44

Post by derektank »

alistairSH wrote: post #31
ElijahLynn wrote: post #2

Valid points by those concerned with taking over the sidewalks. I will also say, people riding electric scooters shouldn't be zooming along at 20mph (or pedal bikes) on sidewalks either, which are a true safety hazard. And on the other side, much better for our environment, to have a lighter weight robot delivering a burrito than a 2,000lb vehicle, in terms of net energy consumption/expenditure.

All the more reason to build separate infrastructure for bicycles and other “in-between” vehicles.

Yeah, depending on the speed of these vehicles, it seems like bike lanes are the appropriate place for them. A smart city could even offer companies an opportunity to fund the buildout of additional bike lanes if there aren’t any existing in the neighborhood in question

Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#45

Post by floundy »

monerozcash wrote: post #32
nightshift1 wrote: post #20

Is it a felony if I kick that thing off the sidewalk ?

In Illinois? If you cause more than $300 in damage, yes.

Just turn it upside down then. At best some “Good Samaritan” turns it right side up at some point but the food arrives late, cold, and spilled all over the inside of the robot.

Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#46

Post by thangalin »

janalsncm wrote: post #27

In another timeline, there are pneumatic tubes or underground trains routing to each building, negating the need for last mile delivery for most packages in dense urban areas. Adding these tunnels is probably too expensive now that the buildings are in place though.

> pneumatic tubes or underground trains

Brilliant. See Tom Scott's video about Vancouver's Rabbit Line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMTZvA8iFgI

Speaking of Vancouver and trains, the Broadway Subway Project is currently under construction, extending an existing line nearly 6 km for $3 billion.

https://www.broadwaysubway.ca/about/stations

In my hard sci-fi novel (beta readers wanted, see profile for contact), delivery bots play key roles in the plot. For local deliveries, a community of 1,000 people was constructed with no overhead cables, allowing food delivery by drop-drones.

Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#47

Post by derektank »

janalsncm wrote: post #27

In another timeline, there are pneumatic tubes or underground trains routing to each building, negating the need for last mile delivery for most packages in dense urban areas. Adding these tunnels is probably too expensive now that the buildings are in place though.

Pipedream Labs is trying to implement a standard delivery tunnel + robotic delivery system, but yeah, I’m afraid they’re facing a serious uphill battle in terms of land use restrictions in the existing built environment

Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#48

Post by Esophagus4 »

boh wrote: post #21
crooked-v wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Recently there's been a lot of anger in San Francisco about a Waymo (which have an excellent safety record with humans) killing an outdoor cat who that walked under the car and sat in front of a tire, when not long after someone was killed by a person backing into a crosswalk and it was a barely a blip on the radar.

The person who killed the bystander has social/legal/financial ramifications. Google had zero. Anyone ever ask themselves why they have a knee-jerk impulse to support a billion dollar company's attempt at centralizing transportation?I'm sorry but safety and making your life easier isn't Silicon Valley's main concern.

Waymo’s cars are, statistically, an order of magnitude safer than human-driven cars.

It sounds like your real MO is that you think SV tech doesn’t care about safety or its customers… which is fine, I guess, but it’s muddying the point you were trying to make as your comment kind of devolved into a strange rant.

Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#49

Post by enobrev »

itsdesmond wrote: post #15

I live in a Chicago neighborhood where these are in use. They have very bright lights, actually blinding you as you approach one at night. They move much faster than is appropriate on a sidewalk. They position themselves in the middle of the sidewalk as opposed to the right hand side, impacting traffic in both directions. They round corners at intersections at below-eye-level, I’ve walked into more than one when they…

I had this exact same experience in ravenswood this weekend. I was walking to breakfast and one of these bots was blocking the entirety of the shoveled part of the sidewalk. I had to make may way into the snow to inch around the bot just so I could continue to use the sidewalk.

I had guessed it was stopped because it came to an unshoveled portion of the sidewalk. If it can't traverse that, it's not made for this city

I'm not fundamentally mad as these bots. But if they don't figure out how to make them work with other pedestrians, then I'm going to start cheering on any vandalism delivered upon them.

Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#50

Post by mmooss »

Are actual delivery people that expensive or that much more expensive than robots? I assume they make minimum wage.

The availability, cost of acquisition, and engineering needed for support are much lower; the problem solving and communication are infinitely greater.

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