Delivery Robot Dogpiled on the Streets of Philly

"In the 30 second clip, the little bot is kicked, sat on, laughed at, and even humped by a crowd of onlookers as it prattles along to its destination. After escaping the crowd's wrath, the robot ambles over past Dillon, who's able to get a clear shot of graffiti reading "DESTROY ME PLZ" scrawled on its plastic chassis."

""Honestly thought it was done for," Dillon wrote in the video caption. "One wanted to throw it, another sat on it. another person wrote destroy me on it... Then it calmly rolled on its merry way.""

"Similar robotics companies have already worn out their welcome in other US cities like Los Angeles and Chicago, as their delivery bots hog sidewalks, injure residents, and rampage through gardens. Compared to those cities, the gadgets are relatively new to the 215 - but given the city's infamously short fuse, you can bet the good people of Philly are just getting warmed up."

Philadelphia has deployed autonomous delivery robots through a partnership between Uber and robotics company Avride, but residents are responding with aggression and vandalism. Video evidence shows pedestrians kicking, sitting on, and mocking the robots while scrawling "DESTROY ME PLZ" on their chassis. Each robot operates within a one to two mile radius at a maximum speed of five miles per hour. This behavior reflects Philadelphia's notorious reputation for destroying experimental robots, including a hitchhiking robot in 2015. Similar delivery robots have faced problems in other US cities like Los Angeles and Chicago, where they obstruct sidewalks and cause damage. Given Philadelphia's historical intolerance, further incidents with these robots appear likely.

Read at Futurism