Chicago Delivery Robot Lawsuits Accuse Companies of Biometric Data Collection

Proposed class-action lawsuits filed in Cook County allege that two Chicago food-delivery robot operators—Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics—are capturing customers’ facial and hand geometry with onboard cameras and LiDAR sensors. The complaints say the firms retain these biometric measurements for artificial-intelligence training and share the data with third parties, in violation of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act.

Chicago Sun-Times

Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, enacted in 2008, requires any entity that collects biometric identifiers such as face or hand scans to give written notice of the purpose and duration of collection, obtain written consent, and regulate storage and sharing of the information. The lawsuits contend that the robot companies failed to provide the required notice or consent.

Chicago Sun-Times

Coco Robotics’ head of government relations, Carl Hansen, called the suit “fundamentally misunderstands our technology,” asserting that the company has not collected biometric data in Chicago and will seek dismissal. A Serve Robotics spokesperson said the robots use cameras and sensors solely for safe navigation, do not identify individuals, and will defend against the allegations.

Chicago Sun-Times

One DoorDash customer received a Coco robot delivery in September 2025; another Uber Eats customer received three Serve deliveries, the latest in early October 2025. The complaints allege the robots’ sensors captured three-dimensional measurements of customers’ faces, hands and bodies, as well as those of other pedestrians. The Coco filing further claims the company shared robot-collected data with OpenAI for AI training, while the Serve filing alleges licensing of video and LiDAR data to third parties.

Chicago Sun-Times

• “This lawsuit fundamentally misunderstands our technology,” — Carl Hansen

Chicago Sun-Times