Food delivery robots to roam Chicago in pilot program

Source: Smart Cities Dive By Katie Pyzyk, Contributor

Dive Brief:

Food delivery robots will head for Chicago’s sidewalks following the city council’s recent approval of a pilot program.
Delivery device tech companies will partner with restaurants and grocery stores to deliver the orders, which customers will request through an app. The robots will operate on sidewalks and within crosswalks within a small radius of the participating food businesses.
The city’s Department of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection will issue two-year permits to companies that apply for the pilot. The department will jointly manage the program with the Chicago Department of Transportation.

Dive Insight:

This delivery device pilot is technically an expansion of a pilot that originated on the University of Illinois Chicago campus in partnership with Starship, a company offering autonomous delivery robots. After more than a year, the university approached the city about expanding its pilot into the surrounding community, according to Kenneth Meyer, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection. Under the program newly approved by the city council, other tech vendors will be able to apply for the Emerging Business Permits as well.

The city will likely re-examine the robots’ boundaries as the testing takes place because “we just don’t want them to be all over the city of Chicago all at one time,” Meyer said. One of the city’s leading concerns is adequately engaging the accessibility community in conversations to ensure the robots do not impede the right of way and that people of all abilities will be able to use this delivery service.

“For example, if someone in the accessibility community wants to be able to order food, is there a way for the device to open up if someone is, let’s say, visually impaired?” Meyer said.