An Uber Eats delivery robot that got stuck on a railroad track in Miami was smashed to bits by a passing train.
Shock onlookers watched as a Brightline commuter train down plowed into the robo-courier, which had malfunctioned, according to People Magazine which noted the robot wasn’t carrying a delivery.
Video of the collision — filmed by Miami native Guillermo Dapelo — showed the machine motionless on the tracks for about 15 minutes as the train was approaching at full speed.
“I was walking my dogs around 8:00 p.m. and I saw the food car standing on the train tracks,” Dapelo told Storyful. “An Uber Eats delivery [person] had called the company to let them know where it was standing and within a matter of minutes the train approached and is captured on the video.”
The video — in which Dapelo can be heard saying, “Oh, it’s gonna crash it” — quickly went viral.
No humans were hurt in the incident, but the little robot never stood a chance.
A train traveling at 55 miles per hour takes almost a mile to stop, according to Operation Lifesaver’s safety rules, and the average locomotive weighs 200 tons.
That’s opposed to the average Uber Eats delivery robot, which is about the size of a suitcase and moves along at a leisurely five miles per hour. Each one can carry up to 55 pounds of food or drinks. Their secure cargo compartments open only when the customer unlocks them through the Uber Eats app.
They use AI, cameras, and sensors to avoid obstacles while cruising along sidewalks. Although, mostly autonomous, human operators can take control for tricky tasks like crossing streets — or railroad tracks.
The company first launched the program in a small test area in Santa Monica, Calif. The service soon expanded to include Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. The incredible success of the venture encouraged Uber Eats to spread to other urban areas around the US, according to Business of Apps.
According to the site’s statistics, Uber Eats has approximately 95 million users globally, and roughly 31 million in the US, making it the most popular single app delivery service, the site noted.
Efforts to contact Uber Eats were not successful.
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