Coco the food delivery robot is now in Chicago

Why it matters: Robots replacing cars, especially in dense cities like Chicago could mean fewer cars on the road, reducing emissions and easing traffic and parking headaches.

Reality check: Coco's Zach Rash tells Axios the robots will complement, not replace, human drivers.

• Rash says some restaurants have been constrained by not having enough drivers, and Coco can help fill that gap.

How it works: Coco is a red and pink box on four wheels with a red flag. It's big enough to fit eight extra large pizzas or four grocery bags, a spokesperson says.

• A customer orders on the food delivery app DoorDash and once the food is ready, the restaurant puts the order in the insulated box, punches in a code to lock the box and sends Coco on its way.
• The customer receives a code on the app and they punch that in to open Coco.

Yes, but: Delivery range is more limited than what a driver can haul. Coco is not hopping on the Kennedy.

Zoom in: Some of the Chicago restaurants currently using Coco include Veggitopia, Nile Authentic Mediterranean Grill, Superior Philly Cheesesteak and Mrs. Quesadilla.

By the numbers: Coco launched in Los Angeles in 2020 and Rash says it's made more than 500,000 deliveries.

What they're saying: "If you have a cold salad and hot pizza in the same vehicle … today, those will arrive in the same insulated bag, and the salad will be kind of warm and the pizza will be getting slightly cold," Rash says.

• "We can actually give the restaurant or the merchant the ability to really control how the food is being transported, how the food is being presented. We don't make any other stops along the way."

What's next: Coco is making deliveries from restaurants that are part of the River West Food Co. ghost kitchen, but the company is planning to expand to other parts of the city.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to say users order through DoorDash (not Coco's app).