A new crime: stagecoach assault against food delivery robots
Food delivery and shopping robots are an excellent way to deliver meals to customers efficiently and quickly.
Many have ventured into the business, such as Estonian company Bolt, which announced in June 2023 that it will begin delivering food to people's doors in Talinn using a fleet of autonomous robots. The development stemmed from a partnership with robotics company Starship Technologies which in 2019 expanded its fleet of autonomous food delivery robots to US colleges.
But there are some security problems that everyone underestimated…
Vandals and thieves against robots
But the operations of such ventures come with some complications: In recent times, people in the United States have vandalized and stolen from these efficient machines, potentially losing business for the companies that oversee the robots and forcing restaurants and grocery stores to repeat and re-deliver your orders.
Los Angeles-based news outlet KTLA5 reported earlier this month that viral videos have surfaced of people kicking and forcing robots open to steal their packages or simply destroy the cars. Fortunately, the companies that supply the robots reimburse the restaurateurs, but who reimburses the companies?
(vid) • DELIVERY ROBOT LOOTED: Austin Got Robbed. #ai #deliveryrobot #fooddelivery #robotics : July 3, 2023 at 02:32PM : #MayaLink #WikiLink — https://t.co/pN9nsjfyVi — (liked) @YouTube
— Daniel @dbalieiro ¹³ | #FreeJulianAssange (@dbalieiro) August 7, 2023
“We have to remake the food, but luckily we still get reimbursed for it,” Steve Avila, general manager of Blu Jam Café in Hollywood, told KTLA5. “I can see how [delivery companies] may suffer, especially since it seems like [delivery robots] are quite expensive.”
Meanwhile, Serve Robots, a company that supplies autonomous delivery vehicles in West Hollywood, told the news that it still has a 99.9 percent successful delivery rate, despite recent vandalism.
Is there a need for new protective measures?
Other companies, such as the aforementioned Starship Technologies, have implemented various protective measures to deter and address vandalism and theft.
“If someone tries to block the robots, the robots will try to go around them or ask them politely to move. If the situation escalates or the robot is tampered with, the robots emit loud sirens and any incidents are reported. Our robots are always locked down and have 12 cameras,” reads a statement from the company acquired by KTLA5.
While no reason has been given for the acts of violence committed against these small but useful machines, it can be assumed that some people are angry at seeing a replacement of humans and react accordingly. So it would be full blown sabotage. Machines are becoming ever more agile and efficient by displacing more and more positions previously occupied by humans.
This has caused some to worry about their source of income and their profitability. Others may just see a good opportunity to get a free meal as a bot won't respond or attack. Whatever the reasons for these attacks, it can be agreed that they are not justified and should stop at all costs.
As a next step, it might be wise for the authorities to impose heavy fines and possibly even jail time for any tampering with the machines. This will likely deter future vandals and ensure the safety of food delivery and shopping robots everywhere.
However what we are witnessing was not unexpected by science fiction. Who remembers Judge Dredd?
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The article A new crime: the stagecoach assault against food delivery robots comes from Scenari Economics .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/un-nuovo-reato-lassalto-alla-diligenza-contro-i-robot-di-consegna-del-cibo/ on Mon, 21 Aug 2023 10:14:21 +0000.