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Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

blockclubchicago.org

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Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#71

Post by trhway »

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…

>stuck in the snow in the only walkable portion of the sidewalk

"Normal" people can walk around at least. How about wheelchair-bound, blind, old/frail for whom walking up down iced/snowy sidewalk edge onto a pavement with moving cars may be an issue, etc. ?

Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#72

Post by pimlottc »

neom wrote: post #22

Toronto outright banned a startup I was helping out with in 2021, they ended up packing up and moving it to Miami- Toronto has a rule that the city should not be made more inaccessible to folks with disabilities, and that a delivery robot could potentially cause an accessibility issue on the sidewalk for blind or wheelchair using folks. They didn't reach out to the startup, or tell them about the vote happening at co…

Did the startup reach out to the city before deploying the robots?

Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#73

Post by smelendez »

zarzavat wrote: post #59
adventured wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no scenario where these delivery bots survive US city sidewalks. They will be hijacked, destroyed/attacked, vandalized heavily. The police will not be able to do anything about it. The business model will not survive the US, unless the companies plan to deploy delivery tanks. It'll thrive in safer cities around the world though.

I'm not sure if you'd consider London to be a safe city but these things won't survive in London either. People are already pissed off about delivery ebike riders, who disobey laws and ride dangerously. But there's very little you can do about humans. A helpless robot that is causing a hazard to pedestrians? A ULEZ-style strike force will be mobilized to drive them out. And what about blind and partially sighted peop…

Fundamentally I think they should just use the road and keep to the right (in the US), like other slow moving vehicles. They’d probably be fine in bike lanes where they exist.

Maybe they could enter the sidewalk for half a block at a curb cut like a cyclist would do to complete a delivery.

Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#74

Post by toast0 »

mmooss wrote: post #50

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.

You can't get investments to have people deliver food anymore.

Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#75

Post by neom »

pimlottc wrote: post #72
neom wrote: post #22

Toronto outright banned a startup I was helping out with in 2021, they ended up packing up and moving it to Miami- Toronto has a rule that the city should not be made more inaccessible to folks with disabilities, and that a delivery robot could potentially cause an accessibility issue on the sidewalk for blind or wheelchair using folks. They didn't reach out to the startup, or tell them about the vote happening at co…

Did the startup reach out to the city before deploying the robots?

Yes, and the province, in fact the conversations with the province were used in the meeting (neutrally) that resulted in the ban.

Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#77

Post by Fricken »

miltonlost wrote: post #41
yieldcrv wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

They aren't that new. Starship Technologies, founded in 2014, has performed over 9 million deliveries across 270 locations.

Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#79

Post by whimsicalism »

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 agree they definitely create a ton of new problems that we will need to figure out, but I think I am simply much much more sympathetic to the fewer drivers argument to the point that I feel like it is still worth doing and figuring out how to fix the details.

Re: Delivery robots take over Chicago sidewalks

#80

Post by browningstreet »

I’ve lived in coastal tech cities but I’ve never done DoorDash, or Uber eats, or anything by robots. Obviously I’m not the norm with these behaviors but I also don’t understand market demand when I see so many DoorDash vehicles at McDonalds, while the news also talks about how McDonald’s is suffering because they lost the poor income demographic.

I also work from home so going and getting my food, in person, is a welcome respite from my office. But who’s turning a $15 McDonald’s order into a $30 thing, regularly?

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