The University of Kentucky is one of 18 schools utilizing autonomous food delivery robots from Starship Technologies starting with the fall 2021 semester.
Food can be ordered through Starship’s app from a selection of seven on-campus vendors, including Subway and Starbucks. Once you specify your location, the robot will wheel itself over to you within a half hour, depending on where the items are ordered from and where it is sent. The service can be used by anyone on campus, not just UK students.
The robots can carry up to 20 pounds, and are constructed to keep food from jostling and drinks from spilling. Deliveries are secured inside the robot, which can be unlocked via the app once it reaches its destination.
The robots are mostly autonomous, and polite at that, with built-in sensors so they can stop for oncoming traffic and passersby on the sidewalk. They are also capable of handling changes in elevation and precipitation without issue. “If you want your food in the rain,” launch specialist David Haywood said, “if you want it in the snow, they’ll take care of that for you.”
Furthermore, they are tracked by GPS so both the robotd and the orders they carry stay accounted for. Their containers are cleaned each time they return to their storage station at the K-Lair cafe so they are fresh for every delivery.
The service has quickly become popular with UK students. “I didn’t have to waste my lunch break standing in line,” Kelli Thompson, a graphic arts student, told the Herald Leader. “It was really convenient and I will definitely use it again.”
In addition to convenience, students love them for the novelty of spotting them around campus. As Polkit Vigg of UK Dining described to WKYT, “Your first day of school, you’re Instagramming or sending a picture to your mom, and it’s a selfie with a robot. That’s priceless.”