The incident was captured on video after the robot sat motionless on the tracks for several minutes
NEED TO KNOW
- An Uber Eats delivery robot was crushed by a train in Miami on Jan. 15
- Video shows the device stuck on tracks as a train approaches at full speed
- No injuries were reported, but the incident highlights safety concerns around autonomous robots
An Uber Eats delivery robot’s routine route took a dramatic — and destructive — turn in Miami when the autonomous device was struck and crushed by an oncoming train.
The incident, which occurred on Thursday, Jan. 15, was caught on video and shared widely online. The clip, filmed by Guillermo Dapelo, shows the small delivery robot sitting motionless on railroad tracks as a train approaches at full speed.
In the video, Dapelo can be heard realizing what’s about to happen. “Oh it’s gonna crash it,” he says moments before the train barrels through, destroying the robot on impact. Dapelo told Storyful he spotted the robot around 8 p.m. while walking his dogs. According to the Miami native, the robot had been stuck on the tracks for roughly 15 minutes.
An Uber Eats delivery driver had reportedly contacted the robot’s operating company “to let them know where it was standing and within a matter of minutes the train approached and everything else is captured on the video,” Dapelo told the outlet…