Once again, a bot has barged its way into trouble.
During a SWAT response in Arizona last week, a DoorDash delivery robot apparently wanted a piece of the action and refused to leave the area, 12 News reports.
The shopping cart-sized robot, known as Dot, was on its way to deliver food on June 15 when it bumbled it into the kitted-out cops in the middle of a pretty serious operation. The Chandler Police were investigating a “weapons related incident” at a home near Ray Road and Hamilton Street, according to the local reporting.
The police ordered Dot to turn around — which, of course, didn’t work because it’s a robot.
Evidently, they gave up on moving it, and Dot’s refusal to budge afforded it a front row view of the SWAT team detonating a flashbang on the home’s window, with footage showing a man later emerging with his hands behind his head.
Dot eventually left the scene, but only after it had ended, and not on its own accord. A huge DoorDash box truck rolled up to take it away, with an employee seen on camera appearing to manually pilot it towards the truck’s rear.
For its part, DoorDash maintains that its takeout drone did exactly what it was supposed to do.
“Our robot behaved as designed — stopping and waiting safely while authorities managed the scene — and we’re grateful to the Chandler Police Department for their professionalism,” a DoorDash spokesperson told The Independent. “We’re continuing to review the incident and will share more as we learn it.”
Dot is a bit different than most food delivery bots. It’s taller and roomier, and zooms around at a zippy 20 miles per hour, the company claims. That’s because it’s built to travel on roadways and bike lanes, leaving its fellow sidewalk crawlers in the dust.
But like any autonomous vehicle, it’s prone to errors. DoorDash can at least take comfort in the fact that Dot’s latest gaffe isn’t wholly unique. Earlier this year, two Serve Robotics machines were spotted blundering into the middle of a police incident while cops apprehended a man who appeared to be having a mental health crisis. Another Serve Robotics robot plowed through a crime scene.
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