The COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in the popularity of remote food delivery, a trend that has continued in subsequent years. However, the autonomous delivery vehicles used for this purpose are increasingly becoming targets for vandals and thieves.
Several viral videos have emerged showing people kicking these robots over and even stealing the products inside. This rise in vandalism and theft is beginning to affect businesses that depend on this delivery technology.
For instance, the Blu Jam Café in Hollywood has had to remake food due to these incidents. Despite this, the café’s general manager, Steve Avila, noted that they still get reimbursed for the remade food. However, he expressed concern for the delivery companies, as the delivery robots seem to be quite costly.
Serve Robots, which operates many of the autonomous delivery vehicles in West Hollywood, stated that despite the instances of vandalism, they successfully complete 99.9 percent of their deliveries.
Starship Technologies, another company, has measures in place to prevent and respond to vandalism. If a robot is tampered with or blocked, it will attempt to maneuver around the obstacle or ask the person to move. If the situation escalates, the robot will trigger loud sirens and report the incident.
Despite these challenges, customers hope that people will stop tampering with the robots, recognizing their crucial role in supporting small businesses. The trend of vandalism against these robots highlights a broader concern about the acceptance and interaction of autonomous technology within the public sphere.