# Thugs attacking robot delivery carts **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 14, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576 "2023-08-14T19:20:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/21 "2023-08-16T18:56:43Z")
Soon the robots will be carrying, no permit needed. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.E](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.e/32/8932_2.png) [@Mr.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.E)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/22 "2023-08-16T19:01:39Z")
You and I are humans, but that robot is not a human and I extend it neither rights nor respect. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/23 "2023-08-16T19:04:05Z")
Someone owns and operates it, and will lose money if you screw with it. Someone else won’t get their pizza that they paid for. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.E](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.e/32/8932_2.png) [@Mr.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.E)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/24 "2023-08-16T19:10:29Z")
The person who owns and operates it is already losing money hand over fist as they burn through venture capital to ‘disrupt’ the delivery business. It will be a long time before autonomous robots are actually cheaper than paying a human to deliver something. The person waiting for their pizza will get a replacement at no charge. Perhaps this time delivered by a human, as it should be. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/25 "2023-08-16T19:28:00Z")
> [@Mr.E](#): > > Perhaps this time delivered by a human, as it should be. Why “should” it be? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/26 "2023-08-18T14:09:02Z")
Maybe I’m leading a sheltered life, but this is the first I’ve heard of “robot delivery carts.” Do they travel on roads, like a motorized vehicle? On sidewalks? How fast do they go? I gather they’re much smaller and lighter than a car, otherwise it would be hard to tip them over. And I can also see how it would be extremely tempting to take this unattended device and tip it over - kinda like cow-tipping, only in a more urban environment. As long as one didn’t damage the cart or steal from its contents, I can’t see what laws would be violated. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/27 "2023-08-19T09:44:29Z")
As a teenager (a very long time ago) I would not have been able to resist messing with them. I assume that if you stand in front of one it will stop and then try to go around. It would take little effort to send it down dead-end streets or make it get stuck in an endless loop. Could you climb up and ride the thing… Whoopee! ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/28 "2023-08-19T10:00:57Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Maybe I’m leading a sheltered life, but this is the first I’ve heard of “robot delivery carts.” Do they travel on roads, like a motorized vehicle? On sidewalks? How fast do they go? I gather they’re much smaller and lighter than a car, otherwise it would be hard to tip them over. There is one type that rolls along sidewalks and does not go that fast, though I do not know what its top speed is. It is about the size of a suitcase and does not look like it would be that hard to tip over, smash up, or hem in with obstacles. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/sJk6Fl-4bn0/maxresdefault.jpg "Yandex Rover delivers in Ann Arbor") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJk6Fl-4bn0) ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/29 "2023-08-19T15:37:52Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I gather they’re much smaller and lighter than a car, otherwise it would be hard to tip them over. They look like an ice chest on buggy wheels: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3C\_rpUTYuk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3C_rpUTYuk) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/30 "2023-08-19T16:12:52Z")
[This](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Technologies#/media/File:Starship_Robot_in_Winter.jpg) is another one, from a company called [Starship Technologies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Technologies). ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/31 "2023-08-23T22:12:45Z")
Notice that video is from Ann Arbor (the U of M campus). I’ve only seen them carrying food a block or two from the school cafeteria to the dorms. I guarantee that there’s no one thinking “I wish that were my job… walking 300 feet with a pizza for five minutes at minimum wage (and no tip), then waiting around for half an hour to do it again.” And, by the way “A human not getting their pizza” is indeed a crime! Enough so that equipping the carts with flamethrowers is not out of the question… ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/32 "2023-08-26T02:07:27Z")
I don’t agree with eliminating low wage jobs. There’s too many people that might not pay the rent without that job. Homelessness is already a big enough problem. I wouldn’t object to blocking a robots path with a shopping cart. Any non-destructive means is fine. I wouldn’t steal from anyone or any device. That’s not how I roll. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/33 "2023-08-28T13:45:26Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I guarantee that there’s no one thinking “I wish that were my job… walking 300 feet with a pizza for five minutes at minimum wage (and no tip), then waiting around for half an hour to do it again.” huh? Lots of people work a minimum wage job. Carrying pizza 300 feet is easier money than making the pizza in the kitchen. And a whole lot easier than , say, loading trucks in a warehouse. Sounds like a good gig to me. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/34 "2023-08-28T21:55:23Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I don’t agree with eliminating low wage jobs. There’s too many people that might not pay the rent without that job. Homelessness is already a big enough problem. > > I wouldn’t object to blocking a robots path with a shopping cart. Any non-destructive means is fine. > > I wouldn’t steal from anyone or any device. That’s not how I roll. You describe the method you would use to steal, and then say that you wouldn’t steal. You’re denying multiple people the use of their property. How is that not theft? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/35 "2023-08-29T00:38:41Z")
Blocking the robot isn’t stealing. Tech support would locate it and correct the problem. Stealing would require taking whatever package is being delivered. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/36 "2023-08-29T01:58:26Z")
> [@Mr.E](#): > > The person waiting for their pizza will get a replacement at no charge. Perhaps this time delivered by a human, as it should be. And hopefully someone will slash the tires of their delivery vehicle, so that it can be delivered on horseback like God intended. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/37 "2023-08-29T02:08:07Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Stealing would require taking whatever package is being delivered. Whether you end up with the package or the robot is irrelevant. The part that makes it criminal is that you’re denying it to its owner. The fact that they can eventually get it back is also irrelevant. Is it stealing to jumpstart a car, take it on a joyride, and then abandon it? The owner can get it back there, too. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/38 "2023-08-29T02:12:41Z")
Good one, General Ludd! ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/39 "2023-08-29T03:31:44Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > And hopefully someone will slash the tires of their delivery vehicle, so that it can be delivered on horseback like God intended. And, if you strap a buggy to that horse, my families late buggy whip business could be revived! Stupid robots _took our jobs!_ ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576/40 "2023-08-29T04:10:09Z")
Seriously, who in their right mind thought they could send these things out among humans and not have them be fucked with? Have they met humans? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thugs-attacking-robot-delivery-carts/988576.md?page=3)