On January 15, an unusual incident took place in Miami in which a train locomotive completely destroyed an autonomous delivery robot. The robot, owned by the company Coco Robotics, remained motionless on the train tracks, which was captured on video by a passerby. Despite loud audible warnings of an approaching train, the machine did not move.
A witness to the event, Guillermo Dapelotold the media that the robot was stuck on the tracks approximately fifteen minutes before the impact itself. During this time, passers-by contacted the delivery company and informed them of the exact location of the blocked device. However, the intervention did not arrive in time to prevent its destruction.
Rare technical failure
Vice President of Coco Robotics, Carl Hansenstated that the incident occurred due to a “rare hardware failure”. He added that the company in Miami has been operating for more than a year, during which their robots have traveled thousands of kilometers without major incidents. He pointed out that their devices successfully crossed the disputed railroad crossing several times a day. The robot was not transporting someone’s order at the time of the accident.
Coco Robotics
Footage of the incident shows the moment a train runs over the robot in a rather dramatic fashion. This event has undoubtedly reopened the discussion on the challenges that autonomous vehicles face when navigating complex urban environments. Although the systems support remote monitoring and security operators, in this particular case the company still failed to react to the blockade on the track in a timely manner – fortunately, only a small autonomous vehicle was injured.