Graffiti, beatings, and fecal matter: not yet arrived in France, vandalized delivery robots everywhere in the rest of the world.

Starship Technologies, Kiwibot, Coco: delivery robot manufacturers are hitting a wall. Not technological, not regulatory. Human. Vandalism incidents are multiplying in the UK and the US, with material losses starting to weigh heavily on the accounts.

From the sidewalks of Sheffield to those of Philadelphia, the same rejection

The latest episodes stand out for their geographical diversity. In Sheffield, UK, two Uber Eats robots were found covered in black graffiti. The words « off our streets » blocked the machines. Their signage flags had been torn off. The charging station was tagged and construction cones were placed behind the robots to immobilize them.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the situation is worse. In Philadelphia, a delivery robot was hit, ridden on, and vandalized over the St. Patrick's Day weekend. In Los Angeles, a resident photographed a robot covered in feces. Another was found gutted on a sidewalk. In Leeds, two pedestrians were filmed throwing a robot into a bush.

These incidents are not new. As early as 2020, Kiwibot had deployed its fleet on the Berkeley campus in California. Out of 80,000 deliveries, 1,600 resulted in vandalism. The unit cost of a Kiwibot robot is around $2,500.

🚨 Bizarre scenes on the streets of California as delivery robots become the target of nighttime vandalism pic.twitter.com/gZsgYy84jD

— Crime Net (@TRIGGERHAPPYV1) March 30, 2026

Does the economic equation still hold?

Starship Technologies claims it wants to get its robots back into service after repairs. The Estonian manufacturer insists that automated delivery reduces car trips and has allowed saving 500,000 kg of emissions in Europe. But the rhetoric hits a financial reality: each vandalized machine means an operational stoppage, a technical intervention, and a cost for repairs.

The model relies on a simple bet. A robot weighing a few kilograms costs less than a human delivery worker to transport a 2kg meal. Except that the human delivery worker isn't turned around, tagged, or filled with excrement. The physical resistance of the residents wasn't part of the specifications.

In Chicago, over 3,000 residents signed a petition to ban delivery robots. In France, no such large-scale fleet has been deployed yet. Given the reception elsewhere, manufacturers would be well-advised to reconsider their implementation strategy before attempting this venture.

Robots know how to avoid obstacles. It remains to be seen if they will survive those who want to make them disappear.

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Source : Futurism