Two residents of Chicago have filed a lawsuit in the US over claims that robots run by Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics captured their facial and hand measurements without consent, bringing renewed attention to the food delivery robots. The cases raise a troubling question: If a robot delivers food to your door, can it also be gathering sensitive information about you?
According to a report by The Associated Press, the proposed class-action lawsuits were filed in Cook County on Oct. 9 and allege violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. The complaints claim that the robots’ cameras and LiDAR sensors captured information on customers’ faces and hands as they approached the machines to pick up their orders. Both have denied the allegations.
Flock Safety is facing renewed scrutiny after a Washington Post investigation reported that former and current officers misused its surveillance network to track people, including former partners. The findings add to growing concerns over unauthorized searches and weak safeguards. Delivery robots now face similar privacy questions, though the technology and allegations differ.
Lawsuits say robots scanned faces and hands.
One lawsuit involves a DoorDash order that plaintiff Mitchell Breidinger says was delivered by a Coco robot although he didn’t choose robot delivery. He says the machine took measurements of his face, head, and hands, and its sensors recorded the geometry. The complaint also alleges that a remote human operator watched the delivery in real time.
The second case is Barry Schain, who said he received an Uber Eats order delivered by a Serve robot without him opting for that option. His lawsuit claims the company retained video and sensor data, and expresses concerns that such information could be used to train artificial intelligence systems or shared with third parties.
Coco has denied the Chicago biometric data collection claims, calling them without merit. The company says the data it shares is anonymous navigation data meant to improve sidewalk safety. Serve says its robots rely on cameras and sensors to navigate safely and that its systems are not designed to identify people or create biometric profiles.
Why the cases could matter beyond Chicago
The cases could have implications beyond Chicago, as Illinois has one of the strongest biometric privacy laws in the US. The Biometric Information Privacy Act requires covered companies to notify individuals in writing that biometric identifiers are being collected, explain why the information is collected and how long it will be kept, and obtain written consent.
The lawsuits contend the robots’ measurements of facial and hand geometry are within those protections. They also question what happens to the sensor data once a delivery is complete, particularly whether it is stored, used to train AI models, or shared with other organizations.
For consumers, the worry is not just people ordering food. Complaints claim that even passersby could have their faces and hands scanned by the robots. That makes transparency and consent key as autonomous machines become more common in public spaces.
The legal cases are still allegations, not determinations that either company violated the law. But their outcome could affect the way delivery robots collect, store, and share data. Chicago’s pilot program for these machines is set to expire in May 2027 unless city officials renew it, giving regulators another deadline to weigh their benefits against privacy and safety issues.
