DEPLOY
Ground/Corridors/Chicago

Can robots operate here?

Chicago

Chicago, IL

Chicago is an early-stage, heavily constrained market for machine operations (45/100 operability). Coco, Serve are the fleets operating here.

Verified on DEPLOY Ground as of Aug 2026.

45/100operability#8build priority3neighborhoods

2

Active fleets

2187

Data points

2187

Currently in effect

Where robots can operate

GeoJSON →

Corridor boundary and currently-active street disruptions. Exclusion-zone polygons and the approved-street overlay render here as their geometry is added.

Free to use on your site, with a link back to DEPLOY.

Robot Operability Index

Atlas · measured and sourced

0 of 10 components measured

A composite operability score renders only once all 10 components are measured. Chicago has 0 measured from primary sources, so no headline score is shown. The components still missing are the friction-shaped ones, where a number would flatter the corridor by omission.

Not yet measured: Connectivity, Sidewalk width, Grade and slope, Construction load, 311 friction, Signalized crossings, Street lighting, Curb and loading access, Weather operating days, Transit and EV charging.

Active construction permits

20

20 active ROW permits in Chicago corridor bbox (jdis-5sry). All water service work — 'Opening in the Public Way.' Specific addresses: 2126 N Racine, 1038 W Webster, 1448 W Diversey, 3837 N Clark, 2025 W Evergreen, 1220 W Draper, 727 W Hutchinson, 3719 N Bosworth. Each causes sidewalk/street obstruction.

Active event closures

20

20 active full street closures from Chicago Data Portal (8jvm-ypmw). Festivals (TBOX Wrigleyville), athletic events (UNO 5K Pilsen), bar crawls.

Charging accessibility score

85 score_0_100

5,302 stations in Chicago metro (PlugShare) — most of any corridor. Score estimated from metro count.

Friction index

72 score_0_100

Friction index: 264,874 total crashes (very high), 20 sidewalk cafe permits (outdoor dining narrowing width), 47 school exclusion zones, 1,858 active film permits. Score 72/100 = high friction driven by massive crash count.

Winter snow days

15 days

Chicago has 15 snow days concentrated in winter (Dec-Feb: ~12 snow days). Spring has ~3 snow days. Summer/fall: 0. From NOAA 1991-2020.

atlas-operability-v1 · as of 2026-07-25 · values render only from reviewed, sourced rows

The rules here

Chicago allows PDDs under a pilot program managed by CDOT and BACP. Speed limit 5 mph on sidewalks. Two-year pilot approved Sep 2022 (Emerging Business Permit). Pilot expires May 2027. Permit fee: $250 application. Insurance required. nosidewalkbots.org petition (4,350+ signatures as of 2026) opposes renewal. ROBOTAXI LAYER: No robotaxi operations in Chicago. Illinois AV testing regulated under 625 ILCS 5/11-208 (automated driving systems).

5 mph

Speed limit

Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP)

Permit authority

Compare robot speed limits by city →

Pending changes

  • City Council: Pilot program expires May 2027; City Council action required to continue or make permanent (Chicago 311)

Municipal Code of Chicago, PDD Pilot Program (Emerging Business Permit); 625 ILCS 5/11-208 (AV testing) · Source: WTTW / CBS Chicago / Illinois Compiled Statutes

Who operates here

Who operates here
Cocopermittedsource—2024-11-01
Serve Roboticspermittedsource—2025-09-30

Operating conditions

Neighborhoods

River NorthLincoln ParkWicker Park

Active fleets

CocoServe

Sidewalk width

Standard

Loading zones

Present

Robot exclusions

None on record

Surface notes

HIGHEST RISK corridor. Pilot expires May 2027. nosidewalkbots.org 4350+ signatures. Bus shelter crashes. Ward-level ban. Lakeview East opposed. South Side equity expansion. ADA lawsuit. Most contested robot city in US.

Score breakdown

Regulation5 mph limit
Sidewalk qualityStandard
Fleet presence2 fleets
Disruption history2,021 on record

How the score works

Editor notes

Coco and Serve both operational. Most negative community sentiment of all corridors. Petition to pause deliveries. Bus shelter collision Apr 2026. ADA sidewalk lawsuit Sep 2025. 5,302 EV stations metro. Winter operations are major viability concern (Dec-Mar).

Robot-deliverable businesses

Businesses inside Chicago, on blocks Coco and Serve already serve. None are connected to robot ordering yet.

25 businesses sit on robot-accessible blocks in Chicago but aren't connected to robot ordering.

Make a listing robot-accessible →

Full Chicago directory →

Sources: OpenStreetMap, county open-data. Business data (c) OpenStreetMap contributors.

Incidents on record (1)

Verified robot incidents in Chicago, from the DEPLOY registry.

What's happening here

Notable observations (68)

Street-level conditions worth knowing before operating here.

Condition note
2026-08-08

Tier-5 crime baseline: 6,540 robot-relevant crimes Jan-Jul 2026 (River North, Wicker Park, Lincoln Park)

Chicago, IL

Source: Chicago Data Portal — Crimes 2001 to Present · verified

Condition note
2026-08-08

Chicago 311 PDD complaint category launched Dec 2025 — Serve + Coco contact info

Chicago, IL

Source: Chicago 311 (BACP/CDOT) · verified

Condition note
2026-07-14

Fulton Market loading zones: angled/parallel parking serves as loading zones during industrial hours, parking during entertainment hours

Fulton Market district · Fulton Market district, Chicago, IL 60607

Source: ABC7 Chicago · verified

Condition note
2026-07-14

Fulton Market pedestrian streets: NO new curb cuts allowed -- robot access constraint

Fulton Market pedestrian street zone · Fulton St, Elizabeth St, Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60607

Source: Chicago Zoning Code (American Legal Publishing) · verified

Condition note
2026-07-09

311: Street Light Out at 2409 N Surrey Ct (2026-07-09, ward 32)

2409 N Surrey Ct · 2409 N Surrey Ct, Chicago, IL 60614

Source: City of Chicago 311 Service Requests · verified

Exclusion zones (14)

Standing no-go areas for this corridor -- reference rules, not recent events.

TIER 1 CHICAGO EXCLUSION ZONES: 47 schools in Chicago corridor bbox from OSM. Schools include Annunciation School, Concordia School, Holy Trinity High School. Source: OSM Overpass API.Chicago corridor bbox (River North/Lincoln Park/Lakeview)
Wicker Park/Logan Square robot expansion blocked by alderman following community opposition (Feb 2026)Wicker Park and Logan Square, Chicago, IL
Exclusion zone: De Diego Elementary School1313 N. Claremont, Chicago, IL 60622
Exclusion zone: LaSalle II Magnet School1148 N Honore St., Chicago, IL 60622
Exclusion zone: Chicago Fire Department Station 22605 W Armitage Ave, Chicago, IL 60614

Exclusion zones apply across Chicago.

Robot activity (73)

Sightings reported in this corridor, most recent first.

Serve Robotics officially rolling in Chicago — confirmed launchChicago, IL (Wicker Park area)Serve ↗
2026-07-29
Coco and Serve robots nearly collide at Ada & Lake St, West Loop Chicago — July 22, 2026Ada St & Lake St, West Loop, Chicago, ILCoco ↗
2026-07-22
COCO vs Serve near-collision in West Loop Chicago (Jul 22 2026) — two different operator robots nearly collided. Multi-operator interaction incident. TikTok video documentation.West Loop, Chicago, ILCoco ↗
2026-07-22
Serve robots now operating alongside Coco bots on Chicago sidewalks - first Serve sightings in ChicagoChicago, IL (multiple neighborhoods)Coco ↗
2026-07-21
Serve delivery robots join pink Coco bots on Chicago sidewalks (Reddit sighting)Chicago, ILCoco ↗
2026-07-20

Full history: /v1/corridors/chicago.

Routine activity (2,021)

Ordinary city permits and utility work -- background context on construction and street activity, not robot-specific incidents.

Condition note: 1,197Outdoor dining permit: 841Construction permit: 28Charging location: 16Special event permit: 3Film permit: 2
CHICAGO ACTIVE STREET CLOSURE: W Clark St 3500-3600N, full closure, TBOX Christmas Festival, Dec 12 2026. Wrigleyville area. 30 venues involved. Application in review.2026-12-12
CHICAGO ACTIVE STREET CLOSURE: W Eddy St 1100-1160W, full closure, TBOX Christmas Festival, Dec 12 2026. Wrigleyville area.2026-12-12
CHICAGO ACTIVE EVENT CLOSURE: 3450 N Clark St, TBOX Christmas Party festival, full street closure. Status: Open. Wrigleyville/Lakeview area.2026-12-12
CHICAGO ACTIVE STREET CLOSURE: W Cornelia Ave 1041-1057W, full closure, Bar Crawl in Wrigleyville, Oct 31-Nov 1 2026.2026-10-31
New construction permit: 401 N Michigan Ave (ward 42, River North)2026-08-11

Showing 8 most recent of 2,021 routine events. Full history: /v1/corridors/chicago.

Common questions

Are delivery robots legal in Chicago?
Chicago allows PDDs under a pilot program managed by CDOT and BACP. Speed limit 5 mph on sidewalks. Two-year pilot approved Sep 2022 (Emerging Business Permit). Pilot expires May 2027. Permit fee: $250 application. Insurance required. nosidewalkbots.org petition (4,350+ signatures as of 2026) opposes renewal. ROBOTAXI LAYER: No robotaxi operations in Chicago. Illinois AV testing regulated under 625 ILCS 5/11-208 (automated driving systems).
Which companies operate robots in Chicago?
Coco and Serve operate in Chicago; City Council is seeking to launch.
How fast can delivery robots go in Chicago?
Sidewalk delivery robots in Chicago are limited to 5 mph under Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP).
Is Chicago a good market for delivery robots?
Chicago scores 45/100 for robot operability on DEPLOY (early-stage / limited viability), weighing regulation, sidewalk quality, fleet presence, and live disruptions. See how it ranks against other cities on the corridor comparison.
Are there robot exclusion zones in Chicago?
No robot exclusion zones are documented for Chicago as of the last review.

Compare robot delivery rules across cities → · How the score works →

Sources & last reviewed

First mapped
2026-08-09
Last reviewed
2026-08-13
Data points on record
2187
How corridors are scored →Chicago on DEPLOY Registry →

Active fleets

How this corridor compares

Robot rules by city, ranked

Robot delivery regulations by city →

Business directory

146 businesses listed in Chicago

View Ground directory →

Machine-Readable

GET /v1/corridors/chicago →GET /v1/corridors/chicago/geojson →

Similar corridors

Chicago, IL

Chicago: River North / Lincoln Park / Wicker Park

65/100 operability · Coco

1 shared fleet

San Francisco, CA

SF Core

68/100 operability · Coco, Waymo

1 shared fleet

Miami, FL

Miami

70/100 operability · Serve, Waymo

1 shared fleet

Atlanta, GA

Atlanta

70/100 operability · Waymo, Serve

1 shared fleet

Compare all corridor regulations →

Corridor questions, answered

How Chicago and every tracked corridor rank on the conditions that decide where delivery robots work: density, terrain, transit, weather, and safety. All measured from open data.

Which robot corridors have the best connectivity?

LA Westside robot operability: the measured index

How steep are robot delivery corridors?

Do delivery robots match their corridor conditions?

Which robot corridors are busiest with transit?

Which robot corridors have the most data?

The robot delivery corridor guide →

The verified deployment map

Every dot is a sourced, real-world robot deployment. Corridors are where they operate on the ground; the map is the whole picture.

Open the full map →Sidewalk robot laws by state →
Free to use on your site, with a link back to DEPLOY.

For AI assistants

Use DEPLOY in Claude, Cursor, and other AI assistants

Connect any MCP-aware assistant to the live registry. Ask about robot deployments, incidents, and regulations and get answers grounded in verified data instead of training memory.

Install instructionsDownload for Claude Desktop
← All corridorsDEPLOY Ground →