Robot food delivery comes to University of Kentucky
A partnership between UK and Starship Technologies has brought 30 robots to the university that will deliver food from a variety of on-campus restaurants and eateries through a downloadable app.
Students, faculty, and staff have a new dining option this year on the University of Kentucky (UK) campus through a partnership with Starship Technologies. Robots from Starship are on campus, providing food delivery services within minutes to any location on the campus. Orders can be placed with a variety of food service providers on campus including Starbucks and Panda Express. Purchases can be made using a downloadable app available on both Android and Apple devices and payment can be made using debit or credit cards, along with student accounts.
Details of the new service are provided in a recent news release from UK. Users order through the app and drop a pin at their location for delivery. They can then monitor the app and follow the robot's progress with their delivery items with an interactive map. The robots can carry up to 20 pounds at a time and when they reach their destination, the user unlocks the storage area through the app to retrieve their order. There are 30 food delivery robots on campus.
SVP of Business Development and Sales at Starship Technologies Ryan Tuohy said of the new service, "We're excited to bring robot delivery service to Kentucky. UK has a significant impact that extends throughout the state and beyond. We can't wait to meet all the students on campus and introduce this new technology. We're confident our robots are going to be warmly accepted and that the students will love the convenience of on-demand delivery."
Scott Henry, interim executive director of the Gatton Student Center, commented on the addition of Starship Technologies' robots to campus. "We have been working with UK Dining on this project for over a year now. It's great to see the robots delivering across campus. We are pleased to offer such a great service to the students, faculty and staff of UK," Henry said.
The robots are sanitized at the end of each day, and if something spills in a robot, an employee of UK Dining will spot clean the unit before the next delivery. The robots are zero-emission and use machine learning technology to navigate bumps, curbs, cracks in the sidewalks, and other obstacles. They are capable of delivering day or night and through rain and snow as well. UK is the 18th college campus in the United States that uses Starship's robots on campus for food delivery.