Retired Penn professor arrested after months of blocking Uber Eats delivery robots in Philadelphia

Carolyn Marvin, a 78-year-old University of Pennsylvania professor emeritus, was arrested Wednesday in Center City Philadelphia after refusing police commands to stop blocking an Uber Eats delivery robot. Marvin says she has been obstructing the robots since they arrived in March to protest automation that she believes displaces human delivery workers, and she plans to contest the disorderly conduct charge on First Amendment grounds.

For companies deploying sidewalk robots, the reported arrest shows that public-space operations can trigger local resistance even when the technology is already on the street. Builders may need human escalation plans and community messaging, but the trade-off is added operating complexity; the article does not show whether this protest is widespread or how Marvin’s legal challenge will be resolved.