Make way for more robots bearing lattes and The Playbirdsdoughnuts for college students.
Starship Technologies has a fleet of 25 mini robots descending upon the George Mason University campus, in Fairfax, Virginia, on Tuesday. The bots will deliver food and drinks to the 40,000 students, faculty, and staff. The first retailers to bring hungry college kids supplies are Starbucks, Blaze Pizza, and Dunkin'. The food and beverages come in what looks like a white cooler on six wheels.
SEE ALSO: Delivery robot catches fire at university campus, students set up vigilThe fleet autonomously (naturally) brings food to students and teachers on a campus meal plan run through food services company Sodexo. Students order through an app; within a few minutes, a bot rolls by with a breakfast sandwich and iced coffee. Delivery to anywhere on campus costs $1.99.
The small but sturdy robot can handle up to 20 pounds, which the company says is about three shopping bags worth of food. It can also cross the street, make it over curbs, move in the dark, and navigate rain and snow. Sensors and computer vision help the robots detect obstacles and stay on course. Must. Deliver. Pizza. Now.
Something about its design and small size is pretty adorable, especially as it struggles (but perseveres!) through the snowy D.C.-area campus, as seen here:
Starship is already providing food by autonomous robot in Silicon Valley, so the bots are well-versed in the fine art of delivering snacks. Starship says the bots have traversed 150,000 miles over 25,000 trips. In November the company launched on-demand package delivery.
The delivery bots are similar to PepsiCo's "snackbot," unveiled a few weeks ago at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. And who could forget the KiwiBot delivery bots at UC Berkeley — one even blew up.
Keep an eye under foot for all the robots taking over a campus near you.
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