DETROIT (WWJ) - A robot delivery service, courtesy of a Detroit agriculture farm, is taking some heat after it was caught cruising around on the eastside Monday afternoon.
In a video posted to Twitter, the little, purple-and-silver type robot could be seen journeying down Lafayette and Van Dyke -- as well as East Grand -- using sidewalks and bike lanes as part of a pilot program for Planted Detroit, a controlled environment agriculture farm.
Comments posted to Twitter ranged from fascinated to disappointed.
"Motorized vehicles such as this are not allowed to operate in bike lanes or on sidewalks. Both are misdemeanors under local law," tweeted the Detroit Greenway Coalition.
"Stay off the sidewalk. Stop blocking bike lanes," another user wrote.
The robot's operator reportedly said that they were testing the machine on a 30 minute route between Planted Detroit -- on the corner of Mt. Elliot and Layfayette Street -- and the Red Hook Café in West Village.
The weather made travel difficult for the robot, which the operator maneuvered around snow-covered sidewalks and street sides.
Planted Detroit responded in a tweet that local officials were aware of and had approved the test run with the robot -- they encouraged concerned citizens to reach out to them via email.
The local company had announced on Monday their partnership with Silicon Valley-based Tortoise to bring driverless delivery to Detroit as deliveries became harder for them to complete due to traffic, COVID and staffing-shortages.
"We’re excited to be one of the first to make robotic delivery an option in Detroit and we’ll be running our pilot program with the Tortoise bots until the second week of March," Planted Detroit said on their website.
The robot only travels to nearby locations during lunchtime, moving at a top speed of 8 mph. The company said that all the robots are remote controlled, with operators able to see the environment and maneuver to avoid potential problems.
Customers meet with the robot at a location they select at their designated time. A scanned QR code opens the cooler boxes on the robot and the customer can take their order.
The robot then returns to Planted Detroit to await its next delivery.
The company's delivery service also involves collaboration with New Lab and the Ford Motor Company.