Professor Arrested for Blocking Delivery Robots in Philadelphia

Carolyn Marvin, a semi-retired communications professor at the University of Pennsylvania, was arrested and ticketed for disorderly conduct after blocking food delivery robots on public sidewalks in Philadelphia. Marvin refused police orders to move, asserting that her actions constituted a First Amendment protest against corporations.

Marvin argues that the incursion of automation into public spaces displaces human jobs and creates hazards for individuals with mobility issues. She contends that public infrastructure should serve people rather than private corporate interests, citing Toronto as an example of a city that banned delivery robots from sidewalks in 2021.

The robots are operated by Avride, a Texas-based company that uses humanizing visual cues to increase public acceptance of its machines. While Pennsylvania law currently defines these delivery robots as pedestrians, Marvin maintains that the presence of such automation is not inevitable.