this post was submitted on 09 Apr 2026
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Delivery robots keep crashing into bus shelters (www.popsci.com)
submitted 3 days ago by new_otters_raft@piefed.ca to c/technology@lemmy.world
49 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Food delivery robots are struggling to steer clear of Chicago’s bus stop shelters. Within just 48 hours, two autonomous couriers from different companies veered off course and collided with shelters shattering glass and alarming nearby residents. These pair of dramatic incidents come amidst brewing tension among community members and lawmakers in Chicago who oppose the robots’ presence. The crashes also come just weeks after one of the manufacturers announced it was integrating a new mapping system trained on “Pokémon Go” data which is designed to improve navigation accuracy.

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[–] mikerr@programming.dev 4 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Why is the glass so fragile ? I'm sure they used to have a bottom metal frame

[–] ryathal@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It's tempered glass, so it doesn't need the support. It also means that it's designed to shatter in a way that prevents sharp edges. That robot has a lot more power than a human when it hits the glass. Tempered glass does weaken after repeated strong impacts, so that could potentially be part of it as well.

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 days ago

Does the robot have any sharp bits? Tempered glass doesn't require much force if using, say, a broken bit of spark plug.

[–] melfie@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 days ago

I would’ve assumed it would be made from plexiglass.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 days ago

It’s not like shattered bus shelters were a huge epidemic before this so it seems like the city already found a good balance between cost and safety.