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Philadelphia residents have been sharing the sidewalks with robot delivery drivers for about a month and they’re not thrilled with the change. Uber Eats held a demo on March 10 showing off Avride autonomous delivery robots, which officially launched in the city of brotherly love that same week.
The robots were described as “the future of delivery,” but the humans around them quickly began resenting the automated couriers. In late March, an Uber Eats delivery robot in Philadelphia’s Center City neighborhood, was kicked multiple times. The second time the autonomous delivery bot was kicked it toppled over, according to WPVI-TV, which noted that the people who attacked the robot put it on its wheels. The kicking incident occurred just after another viral incident in which someone sat on one of the robots.
“When delivery robots are introduced in a new area, it’s quite common to see heightened curiosity from people around them. Some may try to ‘test’ how the robot reacts — for example, by stepping in front of it or attempting to interact with it directly. This is a known and expected phase as people get used to the technology. These few cases of vandalism in Philadelphia did not affect our service area expansion plans,” Avride, the company that makes the robots, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
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“The robots are designed to respond conservatively: in most cases, they will simply stop and wait if someone approaches or interferes, resuming their route only once the interaction has ended. In practice, these moments are usually brief — people tend to satisfy their curiosity within a minute or so and then move on. At the same time, we do not condone intentional damage or unsafe behavior toward the robots,” the company added.
Lindsay Ouellette, a third year PhD student in Social Psychology who is part of Temple University’s Robot Social Navigation Amongst Pedestrians (roboSNAP) team, told BillyPenn that the frustration with the robots is not new, just aimed at a new target. She said that just as pedestrians can be frustrated with fellow humans who walk slowly or are looking at their phones, they can also take issue with the delivery robots.
The delivery robots have been deployed in dozens of cities across the U.S., including Austin, Dallas and Jersey City. The robots keep the orders secure by requiring customers to unlock the cargo hatch through the Uber Eats app. Additionally, Avride is immediately notified if someone tampers with or tries to steal the device.
“The cargo compartment of each delivery robot is securely locked and can only be opened by the intended recipient through a mobile app. If anyone attempts unauthorized access or tries to steal the robot, it triggers an alert to our remote operator. The operator will immediately connect to the robot’s sensory feed to evaluate the situation and take appropriate action to secure it,” Avride said on its website.
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While the robots are able to navigate without human intervention, Avride has a remote support team that is able to control the robots in the case of “an extraordinary situation arises.”
The robotic delivery service is available from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. in the Philadelphia neighborhoods of Center City, Chinatown and Old City. The robots use LIDAR sensors and cameras to navigate and are able to travel at approximately 5 miles per hour.
Avride says its robots are able to operate in a variety of weather conditions, including rain and snow. Additionally, the company said its bots can interpret and recognize traffic light signals, giving them the ability to safely navigate busy city streets.
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While customers have shown skepticism, business owners see robot deliverers as an opportunity.
“I think more ability to deliver food is better for us,” Jeff Newman, owner of Hi-Lo Taco Company told WTXF-TV. “And certainly right now it started raining, and we see that we have a higher demand for take-out and delivery, but we also have fewer drivers.”
Uber forwarded Fox News Digital’s request for comment to Avride.
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