“Chicago sidewalks are for people, not delivery robots,” so says a petition that seeks to rid the city’s streets of the wheel-based contraptions.
Two robot companies — Coco and Serve — are operating the diminutive robots on Chicago sidewalks, transporting meals to customers.
Launched in November, the online petition currently has more than 1,200 signatures from people throughout the city who want the robots banished.
Josh Robertson, the guy behind the petition, told CBS News that when the robots first arrived, he actually felt some excitement at seeing them trundling along the sidewalk because it looked like a glimpse of the future.
But when he actually he came up against one during a stroll, he found himself instinctively moving out of the way, despite the sidewalk being primarily for pedestrians … not wheel-based robots.
Concerned about their impact on both safety and jobs, Robertson launched a campaign calling for more information to be released about the robots.
He said that some folks in wheelchairs or those using crutches have found the machines to be a nuisance, while one guy, Anthony Jonas, ended up in hospital after colliding with one.
“I stumbled over it, and I whacked my eyelid against the visibility flag that’s attached to the robot,” Jonas told CBS News. “Blood and urgent care, stitches — the whole thing.”
Online forums have also been discussing the delivery-robot situation in Chicago, with one commenter asking, “If I knock them over, will I get in trouble?” while another says simply: “I hate them. I tell them that I hate them.”
With the robots containing multiple cameras for navigation, privacy advocates also have concerns about surveillance and data collection in public areas.
One of the delivery robot companies, Coco, has said it’s happy to meet with Robertson to discuss his concerns and those of other residents, though it may have a hard job convincing him to change his position.
Compact delivery robots like Coco’s have actually been around for years, operated by numerous companies in an increasingly competitive sector.
But some cities, such as San Francisco, have seen the authorities push back, putting caps on robot numbers and restricting them to places with little pedestrian traffic.
Whether Robertson’s petition can persuade officials in Chicago to go the same way remains to be seen.
Touchscreen laptops have been around for years. You can get them in all sizes and shapes. Just not from Apple. For years, the Cupertino giant has treated the idea of a touchscreen MacBook the way I treat a meeting that could have been an email: with open contempt. However, Wednesday looks like the day the company could finally change its mind.
The latest Apple invite puts the “Pro and Tell” showcase in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on October 28, 2026. Instead of a regular live-streamed keynote, it is an invitation-only, hands-on event for a handful of press and creators (similar to what the company did for the MacBook Neo earlier this year).
Two residents of Chicago have filed a lawsuit in the US over claims that robots run by Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics captured their facial and hand measurements without consent, bringing renewed attention to the food delivery robots. The cases raise a troubling question: If a robot delivers food to your door, can it also be gathering sensitive information about you?
According to a report by The Associated Press, the proposed class-action lawsuits were filed in Cook County on Oct. 9 and allege violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. The complaints claim that the robots’ cameras and LiDAR sensors captured information on customers’ faces and hands as they approached the machines to pick up their orders. Both have denied the allegations.
Nearly a month after announcing the GPT-6.1 Sol model, OpenAI unveiled GPT-6.1 Terra today. The latest addition to the family focuses on computer use, visual reasoning, coding, and professional work, while costing 50% less through the API than GPT-5.6 Terra.
OpenAI says Terra can handle everything from filling out browser forms and working inside spreadsheets to interpreting technical drawings and editing videos. The company says it can also complete computer-based tasks more than three times faster than GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Sol.