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(Joe Wilkins Avatar)   By (https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins) Joe Wilkins      Published  Sep 8, 2026 7:56 PM EDT           (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=futurism.com) Add Futurism (opens in a new tab)      More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results.        (Screenshots of a swarm of Coco delivery robots on a sidewalk.)   beccarunschicago via Instagram    Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech  (handle_newsletter_email_submission) (3c73518d1d)  (/future-society/glitch-delivery-robots-swarm-chicago-sidewalk)  (FUTinline) (0) Email address  (Enter your email) (Please enter a valid email address)  Sign Up  Thank you!           The companies ushering in food delivery robots aren’t buying themselves much goodwill in the Windy City.  In the short amount of time they’ve been on Chicago streets, the bots have (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/rage-delivery-robots-chicago) sent residents to the hospital and (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/coco-delivery-robot-smash-bus-shelter) smashed through bus stops , prompting local officials to set up (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/chicago-delivery-robots-banned) an exclusion zone prohibiting the companies from operating in a certain section of the city. Now, it seems the bots are also capable of swarming the city’s busy sidewalk, making it all but impossible for residents to pass safely. A (https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dct3eKipij0/) clip shared by Chicago resident Becca Ostein on her morning run captured the bizarre moment when a swarm of delivery robots operated by the firm Coco caused a traffic jam on a sidewalk near Lincoln Park. Apparently caused by a freak glitch, the video shows Ostein attempting to pass a veritable obstacle course of a dozen squirming robots, their on-board lights flashing as they congregate on a patch of narrow sidewalk. Another bot is seen maneuvering off in the distance, though it isn’t clear whether it’s approaching or fleeing the fray. “Run route was crowded this morning,” Ostein wrote in her caption of the video. (https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dct3eKipij0/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading)             View this post on Instagram                       The video garnered plenty of reactions in the comments, the majority of which were negative. “As a disabled person this is an actual nightmare,” one user replied.  “They were swarming,” Ostein (https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/coco-delivery-robots-swarm-lincoln-park/) told CBS News  in an interview following the incident. “They didn’t seem to have anywhere to go. Without agile feet, no one could have gotten by.” In a statement shared under Ostein’s post, Coco apologized, admitting “that’s not how our robots are designed to operate.” “Our team caught it quickly, and the robots were cleared and operating normally within minutes,” the company continued. “We’ve made sure this won’t happen again.” More on robots:  (https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/meta-deploying-robots-data-center-maintenance) As If There Was Any Question About Data Centers Being Weak Job Creators, Meta Is Now Deploying Robots to Maintain Them    Add Futurism as a (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=futurism.com) preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting.   (https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins) (Joe Wilkins Avatar)   (https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins) Joe Wilkins   Correspondent    I’m a tech and labor correspondent for Futurism, where my beat includes the role of emerging technologies in governance, surveillance, and labor.   (https://bsky.app/profile/joeonhere.bsky.social)          TAGS IN THIS STORY  (https://futurism.com/category/robotics) Robotics      (https://futurism.com/category/robots-and-machines) Robots and Machines             Most Popular (https://futurism.com/category/ethics) Ethics   (https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/teen-boys-meta-glasses-harass-bully-girls-school) Teen Boys Are Using Meta Glasses to Harass and Bully Girls at High Schools and Middle Schools   By (https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison) Maggie Harrison Dupré          (https://futurism.com/category/anthropic) Anthropic   (https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/anthropic-ai-researcher-quits) Anthropic Was Meant to Be the More Responsible AI Lab. A Terrified Researcher Just Quit, Saying the Company Is Threatening the Survival of Humankind.   By (https://futurism.com/authors/victor) Victor Tangermann          (https://futurism.com/category/future-society) Future Society   (https://futurism.com/future-society/llms-acting-as-cognitive-virus-among-humans) Scientists Say LLMs Appear to Be Acting as a Cognitive Virus Among Humans   By (https://futurism.com/authors/victor) Victor Tangermann          (https://futurism.com/category/elon-musk) Elon Musk   (https://futurism.com/future-society/elon-musk-seems-legitimately-shaken-over-this-new-documentary) Elon Musk Seems Legitimately Shaken Over This New Documentary   By (https://futurism.com/authors/victor) Victor Tangermann          (https://futurism.com/category/rx-medicines) RX and Medicine   (https://futurism.com/health-medicine/drug-schizophrenia-treatment-alzheimers-garage-lab-chatgpt) Man Announces That He Has Synthesized a New Schizophrenia Treatment in His Garage, Based on a Formula Devised by ChatGPT   By (https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins) Joe Wilkins           (https://futurism.com/category/food) Read More         More   (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/rage-delivery-robots-chicago) (A pilot program has unleashed a hoard of delivery robots onto Chicago sidewalks, prompting outrage from locals.)     (https://futurism.com/category/robotics) Robotics   (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/rage-delivery-robots-chicago) Residents Rage Against Fleet of Delivery Robots Taking Over Chicago   By (https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins) Joe Wilkins           (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/coco-delivery-robot-smash-bus-shelter) (A small red delivery robot with the label "COCO" is at a bus stop with shattered glass scattered on the ground around it. Behind the robot, there is a poster advertising Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly," showing a woman in traditional attire with the dates Mar 14 - Apr 12. The bus stop has black metal poles and a bench.)     (https://futurism.com/category/robotics) Robotics   (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/coco-delivery-robot-smash-bus-shelter) There’s Something Incredibly Weird About Two Delivery Robots Crashing Through Glass Bus Shelter in Chicago Within a Few Days of Each Other   By (https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore) Frank Landymore           (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/delivery-robot-smashes-bus-station) (Two side-by-side images show a small delivery robot on a sidewalk near a bus stop shelter with a black curved roof. The robot has a white and green body, four black wheels, and an orange flag. Blue shattered glass is scattered on the sidewalk around the robot in both images. The left image shows a streetlamp partially visible in the upper left corner. The background features a white brick wall with a window.)     (https://futurism.com/category/robotics) Robotics   (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/delivery-robot-smashes-bus-station) Delivery Robot Allegedly Smashes Through Bus Stop Window, Keeps Driving Covered in Broken Glass   By (https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore) Frank Landymore           (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/chicago-delivery-robots-banned) (A stylized image of a soccer player in mid-air, wearing a uniform with the number 17, overlaid with an orange tint. In front of the player is a blue delivery robot labeled "COCO" and "Coco Robotics." The background features a grid pattern with two horizontal blue stripes and four red six-pointed stars, resembling the Chicago flag.)     (https://futurism.com/category/robotics) Robotics   (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/chicago-delivery-robots-banned) Large Area of Chicago Bans Delivery Robots After Resident Outcry   By (https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins) Joe Wilkins           (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/delivery-robot-philadelphia) (A small white delivery robot with four wheels and a digital face displaying two triangular eyes is navigating a city sidewalk at night. The robot has "AVRIDE" written on its side and a small antenna. People are heckling it.)     (https://futurism.com/category/robotics) Robotics   (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/delivery-robot-philadelphia) Delivery Robot Dogpiled on the Streets of Philly   By (https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins) Joe Wilkins           (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/delivery-robots-leave-college) (A composite photo illustration depicting a boot kicking a Starship delivery robot.)     (https://futurism.com/category/robotics) Robotics   (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/delivery-robots-leave-college) Company Pulls Delivery Robots From All College Campuses   By (https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore) Frank Landymore           (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/delivery-robot-fail-compilation) (Three images show delivery robots running into trouble while navigating urban environments.)     (https://futurism.com/category/robotics) Robotics   (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/delivery-robot-fail-compilation) Wild Video Shows Delivery Robots Causing Havoc, Getting Obliterated   By (https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins) Joe Wilkins           (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/delivery-robot-vandalism-problem) (Two people are beating a tipped-over pink robot with blue lights on a city sidewalk at night. One person is wearing a black shirt and camouflage pants, while the other is dressed in a black jacket and light-colored pants. The scene is illuminated by streetlights and nearby vehicles.)     (https://futurism.com/category/robots-and-machines) Robots and Machines   (https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/delivery-robot-vandalism-problem) Delivery Robot Companies in Trouble as Bot Become Targets for Vandalism   By (https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins) Joe Wilkins           (https://futurism.com/category/future-society) SEE MORE        (https://futurism.com/) ()    Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech  (handle_newsletter_email_submission) (3c73518d1d)  (/future-society/glitch-delivery-robots-swarm-chicago-sidewalk)  (FUTinline) (0) Email address  (Enter your email) (Please enter a valid email address)  Sign Up  Thank you!          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