Nine bus passengers were injured in Tallinn when the driver braked abruptly to avoid a delivery robot that entered a pedestrian crossing against a red light, Tekniikka&Talous reported.
The robot, operated under Bolt, struck the front of the bus, according to Estonian public broadcasting. Cameras on the bus and by the road recorded the impact, which caused passengers to fall or hit objects inside the vehicle. Tallinn's transport authority said the machine left the location before police arrived.
Starship Technologies, the Estonian company that developed the robot, denied that the device intentionally fled the scene. Chief operating officer Pepe Aaviksoo said the robot remained on site for about ten minutes before contacting technical support to be moved off the carriageway.
The company is examining a possible technical failure in the robot's traffic light detection. Aaviksoo said darkness, an illuminated billboard behind the traffic signals, and a malfunctioning light sensor may have prevented the system from detecting the signals.
