States are increasingly granting small delivery robots generous access to city sidewalks; in PA, they are classified as “pedestrians” and can drive up to 12 mph
As small robots proliferate on sidewalks and city streets, so does legislation that grants them generous access rights … Tweets: @robertburns73 , @cooperlund , @mtsw , @nicolarossi , @parismarx , @stevehiltonx , @firewalldragons , @silvermanjacob , and @hypervisible Tweets: Robert Burns / @robertburns73 : Robots have been granted ‘pedestrian’ rights in a number of US states. These are delivery robots owned by major online retailers & delivery companies that will compete with pedestrians for space on footpaths. Truly dystopian. https://www.axios.com/... Cooper Lund / @cooperlund : That's a robot that's 3x as heavy as a cyclist zipping down the sidewalk just as fast as one, while being no taller than your knees. This is going to seriously harm people, not to mention the encroachment of freight onto already crowded pedestrian zones. https://www.axios.com/... https://twitter.com/... Michael Tae Sweeney / @mtsw : luckily for us, most cities in the US do such a dogshit job of maintaining their sidewalks that the robots won't really be able to use them without constantly failing https://twitter.com/... Nicola Rossi / @nicolarossi : 'Legislators really haven't had time to think of what the ramifications are'. How long do they need? These babies have been trundling about on various city streets for nearly five years. Sidewalk robots get legal rights as “pedestrians” https://www.axios.com/... Paris Marx / @parismarx : In the early 1900s, auto companies pushed pedestrians off the street and made it a space that was only for fast cars. A century later, the process of legally turning sidewalks into roads for delivery robots has already begun. https://www.axios.com/... Steve Hilton / @stevehiltonx : how much did Jeff Bezos bribe state legislators to allow his stupid, dangerous robots to be classified as “pedestrians” we need to make our neighborhoods #MoreHuman not less! https://www.axios.com/... Carey Parker / @firewalldragons : I hate to keep beating this same drum, but these robots are going to being spying on us - guaranteed - unless and until we create privacy regulations with teeth. Unbridled capitalism demands it - you can't leave money on the table. Therefore we must making tracking unprofitable. https://twitter.com/... Jacob Silverman / @silvermanjacob : “Fears of a dystopian urban world where people dodge heavy, fast-moving droids are colliding with the aims of robot developers” https://www.axios.com/... @hypervisible : “In Pennsylvania, robot ‘pedestrians’ can weigh up to 550 pounds and drive up to 12 mph.” 😬 https://www.axios.com/...