Food Delivery Robot vs Philly Toddler

A food delivery robot vs Philly toddler on a Tuesday night in Old City. I'll bet on the toddler any day. They're scrappy. Especially in this city. You can now order food from Uber Eats and have it delivered via robot in certain neighborhoods. How long will it take? Depends how many toddlers the robot encounters on its way to you.

The future is here, but can Philly be trusted? Time will tell. 4-year old Trudy was scooting around Independence Mall last Tuesday evening when one of these little guys rolled up. After greeting the bot, she hops on her scooter and tries (in vain) to get the robot to follow her. No dice. The robot had impressive evasive abilities, avoiding running into her, despite her best efforts. It also seemed to have a human-like ability to recognize that she meant the contraption no harm. The heart eyes were really cute too.

With a few minutes added to the delivery time, the food delivery robot escaped the curious toddler unscathed. According to the New York Post, though, that hasn't always been the case. They list a kicking incident, someone sitting on one of the robots, and a group flipping one over, all within the first month of Uber Eats robot delivery launch in Philly. Par for the course in the city that killed Hitchbot.

Anyone who remembers Hitchbot knows that there's a particular danger for robots in this city. A Canadian Hitch-hiking robot made it thousands of miles through Canada and Europe before meeting its demise here in Philly. Attempting to cross the country, but was destroyed here in Philly before it had the chance to leave the East Coast. The kicker is the sort of sick pride many Philadelphians feel over the incident to this day. Perhaps that's why Uber Eats added the red Phillies flag to their delivery bot. Will the Phillies flag keep at least a certain percentage of Philly sports fans from attempting to destroy the robot at first sight? Maybe, but I'd suggest hiding these guys during any championship celebrations here just in case. On that note, any losses too. Especially the losses.

Uber Eats robot delivery is new to Philly and only offered in a few cities nationwide. Austin, Dallas, Jersey City, and as of March 2026, now in Philly too. Just in time for the big 250th celebrations planned throughout the entire year.

Made by Avride, you can find more information about these robots and their capabilities HERE. You can even hire one! They are able to travel within a 1-2 mile radius, speed up to 5 mph, and they can keep a charge for up to 12 hours.

The best part for me is that you don't have to feel guilty about ordering out for food delivery on bad weather days. Sometimes you don't want to go out because the weather is crummy, but you feel bad about dragging a delivery driver out to your house to deliver food in those same conditions. But a robot? Sure. Get the robot to do it, guilt-free, and no tip needed. These bots are designed to operate in inclement weather, including snow and rain. No word on how they’ll navigate Philly potholes and sink holes, but we're bound to find out soon. I'd bet there's a robot looking up from out of a sinkhole as I type this.

The Uber food delivery robot option is only in a few parts of Philly to start, and is available from 10am - 10pm. Before confirming your order, you’ll be given the option to choose whether you’d like your meal delivered by the robot. To me, the only answer to that question is YES. Then, track the robot’s location in real-time via the Uber Eats app. Wait as the robot navigates around garbage, construction, traffic, and yes... toddlers. When it arrives, check the app for instructions on how to open the hatch and retrieve your food. Bon appétit!