Starship robots deliver food to Cal Poly students, staff
Students, faculty, and staff can place orders using the Grubhub app and select delivery
– Cal Poly is reintroducing on-campus food delivery with nearly 40 wheeled robots designed to deliver food, drinks, and snacks to students, faculty, and staff.
The delivery service is launching this academic year, courtesy of a partnership between Cal Poly Campus Dining, Grubhub, and Starship Technologies. These robots will offer a quick and convenient delivery option.
“They are fast, convenient, useful, and fun to see cruising around campus,” said Russell Monteath, director of Commercial Services for Cal Poly Partners. “And that’s not mentioning how they’ll cut down on lines at the venues.”
The six-wheeled robots are less than 30 inches long, 2 feet wide, and 2 feet tall (without flag). They can carry up to 22 pounds of food in compartments designed to keep items hot or cold. During transport, the lid remains locked and can only be opened by the customer upon arrival.
Equipped with 12 cameras, radar, GPS, reflectors, and stereo cameras, the robots can detect objects up to 200 feet away and adjust their speed to avoid obstacles. They come to a full stop if an object is directly in front of them.
Students, faculty, and staff can place orders using the Grubhub app and select delivery. The robot will then meet customers at designated delivery locations, and an interactive map on the app will track the robot’s journey. When the robot arrives, customers receive an alert and can unlock it using the app.
Payment options include dining dollars, credit, or debit cards. The delivery service costs an additional $3.50, which cannot be paid using dining dollars.
“Nowhere is time more regimented than on a university,” said Chris Neider, vice president of Business Development at Starship Technologies. “You’re moving between classes, you can place an order right before you’re out, and the robot can meet you at the quad, in the next building, or at your dorm.”
Starship Technologies, recognized as a leader in autonomous delivery services, currently serves 1.3 million students with dining options from 900 merchants at U.S. campuses. The company has completed nearly 7 million deliveries worldwide.
About Starship Technologies
Starship Technologies, founded in 2014 by Skype co-founders Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, uses autonomous delivery robots to provide local delivery services. The company completes tens of thousands of autonomous deliveries daily, delivering groceries, food takeaways, and packages. Starship’s headquarters are in San Francisco, with engineering offices in Estonia and Helsinki, Finland, and a presence in London and Milton Keynes, U.K.
