Video of UT student attacking food-delivery robot leads to 2 arrests | WJHL

by: Lexi O’Haver, Nexstar Media Wire

Posted: May well 5, 2022 / 02:01 PM EDT

Updated: May perhaps 5, 2022 / 02:11 PM EDT

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Two students from the University of Tennessee are facing rates immediately after just one of them allegedly threw a campus foodstuff-shipping and delivery robot to the floor.

Patrick Callahan, 19, and Brock Garland, 20, both of those encounter a single depend of felony vandalism of about $2,500 pounds right after the robot was weakened on the night of April 29.

Incident reports say the learners had been retrieving Garland’s foodstuff purchase from the robotic when they tried to shove the robot’s antenna inside of the top rated compartment. A video was also posted to social media, but seems to have considering the fact that been deleted, allegedly exhibiting Callahan picking up the robotic and slamming it to the ground.

Facts logs from the UT Business office of Facts Technologies confirmed that the two learners were being in the correct space of the incident at the time it occurred. They ended up discovered from social media posts by users of the Starship Technologies crew, the corporation which owns and operates the robots used on faculty campuses across the state.

The substitution value for the robotic is $5,500.

A bonded arraignment has been scheduled for May possibly 13.

The robots were being only recently released on the campus and let learners and school to have groceries and foodstuff delivered immediately from campus eating services. The electronic robots are operated autonomously applying a combination of personal computer vision and GPS, achieving a best pace of 4 miles for every hour.