What to know about Chicago's delivery robots and the debate over them

When Lincoln Park resident Ainsley Harris first spotted a delivery robot in her neighborhood last year, she said it wasn’t the technology that caught her attention. It was the look.

The boxy, pink and orange robot felt more playful than mechanical, Harris said. Even “kind of cute.” It was one of a fleet of robots belonging to Coco Robotics, a Los Angeles-based sidewalk delivery company, that began appearing in some Chicago neighborhoods in late 2024.

But things changed for her when robot operations began to ramp up in Lincoln Park, she said. A mother of two, Harris is responsible for a stroller, a labradoodle and a young kid on a bike when she goes out for walks. More robots on her neighborhood's narrow sidewalks mean she has to be even more aware to ensure their safety.

"The more time that I spent with them, and the more close contact I had with them...the more I began to kind of sour on them and having them in the neighborhood," Harris, 42, said.

Harris isn't alone in her sentiment. Josh Robertson, one of Harris' neighbors, started a petition last summer to call on the city to pause the sidewalk robot program until they release safety findings on the devices and set rules for how they're deployed. The petition has received over 3,400 signatures from more than 50 ZIP codes across the city.

"Sidewalks are for people, and should remain people-first," Robertson, 40, said.

As companies push to dispatch more of the delivery robots across neighborhoods in Chicago, Robertson said he hopes his petition will place pressure on city officials to pause the services.

Here's an overview of the current state of robot delivery in the city — and how Chicagoans are responding.

What companies are behind Chicago’s delivery robots?

Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics are the two tech companies that have rolled out delivery robots across the city in the last two years.

Coco's robots began appearing in the 27th and 34th wards as part of its initial pilot program. Serve Robotics, another Los Angeles-based sidewalk robotics company, launched 50 robots across much of the city's North and West sides last September, adding to the growing fleet of robotic delivery couriers.

The robots were first allowed by the city in 2022, when then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that the City Council had approved of a Personal Delivery Device (PDD) pilot program. This program allowed for local food establishments to partner with the companies to use their small robots to deliver food to their customers. Throughout the launch of the program, the Chicago Department of Transportation carried out an assessment of the robots to see if they can be used safely without inconveniencing sidewalk users.

The program is still ongoing and will not renew past May 2027 without action from the City Council, according to the city's website. In December, the city released a 311 category to encourage Chicago residents to submit their concerns and feedback about the robots.

Where in the city can you run into a delivery robot?

There are currently 100 delivery robots up and running in the city.

Coco's 50 robots operate in Fulton Market, the West Loop, River West, the Loop, South Loop and Greektown.

Serve's 50 robots operate in 14 neighborhoods: Austin, Belmont Cragin, Dunning, East Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, Lake View, Lincoln Park, Little Italy, Logan Square, Near North Side, Near West Side, Uptown, West Garfield Park and West Town.

Notably, neither company's robots operate on the city's South side.

Do they deliver anything other than food?

Both Serve and Coco have partnerships with Uber Eats for food and restaurant deliveries.

Coco robots also supports delivery for certain grocery and everyday essentials through its partnership with DoorDash and DashMart, according to a representative for Coco robots. Serve's director of government affairs, Yariel Diaz, said the company hopes to expand "beyond food delivery to groceries, medications, parcels and more."

Customers in the neighborhoods where robot delivery is available are able to choose their preferred delivery method when placing an order in their app of choice. Users can also opt out of robot delivery entirely.

Do they accept tips?

No. Robots don't accept tips.

Can the robots deal with snow and ice?

Both companies say their robots are equipped to operate in winter conditions, but one city resident documented a robot getting stuck in the snow this winter.

How have residents and alderpersons responded to the robots?

Several alderpersons across the city have begun surveying their residents to gauge interest in expanding robot services into their neighborhoods.

Alderman Bennett Lawson (44th) and Alderwoman Angela Clay (46th) sent out surveys to their respective constituents in November. Alderman Daniel La Spata (1st) hosted a virtual meeting with representatives from both robot companies and constituents on Feb. 2 to provide residents in his ward with an opportunity to ask questions and share concerns. In addition to the meeting, his offices also collected feedback.

In a statement released Tuesday, his office said that robot deliveries will not be expanding further in the ward after 83.7% of 1st Ward respondents strongly disagreed with the expansion.

"While I will not be asking Coco to pull back from their limited pilot area east of Wood Street, neither company will be expanding further into the ward," he said in the statement.

Since starting his petition, Robertson said he's added an optional incident field where people can leave their experiences with the robots. He said he has seen around 850 incident reports on his form, as individuals reported incidents of collisions, injuries and obstruction of sidewalks around their neighborhoods.

"These robots have had a real tangible effect for Chicagoans going about their lives at street and sidewalk levels," Robertson said.

What do delivery drivers and couriers think?

Efrain Berrocal, a courier and dispatch coordinator at Chicago-based Cut Cats, a courier service run by cyclists, said the robots may pose a threat to traditional courier services.

"We haven't seen it be an issue so far, but I could see it becoming an issue when, inevitably, restaurants start to use more 3rd party apps, and then those 3rd party apps start to get their own robots," he said. "Then...we might see an issue."

To combat this, the 12-year-old business that has worked with over 85 restaurants and businesses in the city, continues to market itself as a local group, where humans are part of the entire process.

But both Coco and Serve argue that the robots are a boon both for businesses and human couriers.

In a statement, a Coco representative said that Chicago is well suited for short-distance deliveries because of the city's density and walkability.

"For restaurants and retailers, robots help make last-mile delivery more efficient by reducing congestion, lowering delivery costs, and smoothing peak demand, especially during busy meal times," the representative said.

According to Serve's website, when the robots focus on short-distance delivery, "human couriers are able to focus on higher-value deliveries and restaurants can stay focused on cooking and in-store guests."

The website also says that servicing the robot operations also creates new roles in remote assistance, fleet operations and maintenance. "Robots act as a supplemental tool alongside human workers, not a replacement," the website said.

Which is faster — a robot or a human?

A representative for Coco robots said: "Robot delivery isn't designed to compete on raw speed. The bigger goal is easing congestion in cities by taking short car trips off the road. Coco robots move at pedestrian pace, up to about 5 mph, and intentionally slow down around people or obstacles. The focus is efficiency, not rushing, helping complete short delivery trips in a predictable, low-impact way while reducing traffic and emissions," in a statement sent via email.

According to Serve robots website, their average delivery time is about 18 minutes.