Stunning video showed the moment a Philadelphia woman was taken away by police after standing in front of a futuristic food delivery robot to block it from reaching its destination.
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woman → show → destination
Carolyn Marvin, 78, was arrested around 1.16pm on Wednesday after allegedly preventing an Uber Eats robot from completing its delivery on the 1200 block of Filbert Street, according to the Philly Voice.
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Marvin → arrest → Voice
Footage of the incident, which happened near the City of Brotherly Love's famous Reading Terminal Market, showed Marvin standing in front of the robot before being removed from the scene by at least three officers.
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Marvin → happen → officers
Marvin, a University of Pennsylvania professor emeritus, told the outlet that Philadelphia police approached her after she had been there for 'quite a long time.'
She repeatedly refused their directive to step aside until eventually being arrested for disorderly conduct.
Marvin explained that her actions were a form of protest against the delivery robots, which are increasingly being used in the US.
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which → tell → US
'I know they're taking the jobs of human delivery workers and so, I have been protesting them whenever I saw them by standing in front of them and preventing them from going forward,' Marvin told WPVI.
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Marvin → know → WPVI
She added: 'I think it's my First Amendment right to publicly demonstrate on a sidewalk to protest against delivery robots.'
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it → add → robots
Carolyn Marvin, 78, was arrested around 1.16pm on Wednesday in Philadelphia after allegedly blocking an Uber Eats food delivery robot from reaching its destination
Marvin, a University of Pennsylvania professor emeritus, explained that she was protesting the delivery robots because they were 'taking the jobs of human delivery workers'
The Philadelphia Police Department told the Daily Mail on Saturday that Marvin was issued a criminal violation notice.
Though she had never been stopped by police before, Marvin's confrontations with delivery robots have previously gone viral and captured local attention.
Ashley Baldwin, a West Philadelphia resident, saw one of those encounters and was initially concerned for Marvin.
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Baldwin → arrest → Marvin
'I actually thought the robot hit her, so my original question was, "Are you okay?
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you → think → her
Did the robot hit you?"' Baldwin told the outlet.
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Baldwin → hit → outlet
'No, I have to stop this,' Marvin supposedly responded.
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Marvin → have → this
'They're taking over the world.'
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They → take → world
Marvin was leaving her flu shot appointment when she allegedly blocked the Uber Eats robot on Wednesday.
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she → leave → Wednesday
She said the encounters allowed her to talk to curious bystanders 'about what's going on.
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what → say → bystanders
'
'It's always very interesting conversations that we have, and I think it's good to have those kinds of conversations in public space,' Marvin told the Philly Voice.
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Marvin → have → Voice
Despite being issued a notice, Marvin said she planned on continuing her protests.
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she → issue → protests
Marvin said she did not plan to stop protesting the food delivery robots even after being arrested by Philadelphia police
The Uber Eats delivery robots, which are operated through Avride, arrived to Philadelphia in March
Marvin explained that public opinion on what she did was 'divided,' with some believing that her actions were unfair to the customers who spent money on getting their food delivery.
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who → say → delivery
To that, Marvin responds that people should be concerned about robot couriers taking human jobs.
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couriers → respond → jobs
There is concern that's exactly what could happen as food delivery robots become more widely used and effectively mean lower labor costs.
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robots → be → costs
An estimated 5,000 robot couriers currently operate in the US, tech analyst Dan Ives told The New York Times.
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Ives → operate → Times
The Uber Eats robots, which are operated through Avride, debuted in Philadelphia this March and were touted as 'the future of delivery.'
As a whole, the couriers operate in at least 10 metropolitan areas, including Los Angeles and Miami, through partnerships with platforms like Uber Eats or DoorDash.
Over the next three years, the number of robots is expected to reach 8,000, according to Ives.
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number → operate → Ives
Some analysts have predicted the delivery robots industry in the US to eventually generate more than $5 billion.
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industry → predict → billion
The Daily Mail has reached out to Marvin for further comment.
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Mail → reach → comment
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