Lawsuits claim delivery robots recorded biometric data without permission

Two Chicago residents have filed lawsuits alleging that delivery robots from Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics scanned their faces and hands without permission while they collected food and grocery orders.

According to the claims, the robots arrived through DoorDash and Uber Eats even though the customers had not requested robot delivery in the apps. The plaintiffs say cameras and LiDAR scanned them as they unlocked the robots’ cargo bays. Both lawsuits allege that video and sensor data were retained and shared with AI companies for training.

The cases invoke Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) of 2008. The plaintiffs are seeking statutory damages of $1,000 per negligent violation or $5,000 per intentional or reckless violation. These are allegations, and both companies deny them.

Coco called the legal action “frivolous.” A Coco spokesperson told the Associated Press, “This lawsuit fundamentally misunderstands our technology, we have not collected biometric data in Chicago,” adding that shared data is navigational data used to make sidewalks safer. Serve said it “does not use data to identify individuals or create biometric profiles.”

The dispute centers on whether the robots’ data collection required permission under the Illinois law. The lawsuits also allege that data was shared for AI training; the companies’ denials and the plaintiffs’ claims have not been resolved in court.