Two proposed class-action lawsuits filed in Chicago claim that sidewalk delivery robots scanned customers' faces and hands without their consent. The suits, filed October 9 in Cook County court, name Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics and accuse them of violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Both companies deny the allegations, which have not been proven in court.
According to the complaints, the robots' cameras and LiDAR sensors, which use pulsed lasers to measure distances, capture three-dimensional measurements of a customer's face and hands when they approach to unlock the compartment and take their order. The suits say the robots also scan the faces, hands and bodies of other people they pass on Chicago sidewalks. They allege the companies kept the data to train artificial intelligence systems and shared it with third parties, and one report describes the claim as selling it. The plaintiffs are Mitchell Breidinger, a DoorDash customer who received a delivery from a Coco robot on September 29, 2025, and Barry Schain, an Uber Eats customer who received three deliveries from Serve robots. Illinois law requires written consent before biometric data is collected. The suits seek $1,000 for each negligent violation and $5,000 for each intentional or reckless one, along with other relief.
