Grubhub, Starship Expand Robot Food Delivery to University of Notre Dame

Grubhub and Starship Technologies continue to expand their robot food delivery services to colleges across the U.S. This time rolling out the service at the University of Notre Dame. The announcement follows news of Starship’s robotic delivery fleet being rolled out at Baylor University and East Carolina University earlier this month. In November, Starship launched delivery robots at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Under the collaboration, 30 of Starship’s autonomous delivery robots will be launched on campus, delivering to students and staff from six campus eateries: Au Bon Pain, Garbanzo, the Gilded Bean, Hagerty Family Cafe, Modern Market and Taco Bell. 

By spring, the robot fleet is expected to expand to 50, with additional restaurants and cafes added to the affiliated services.  

“We are thrilled to partner with Grubhub and Starship Technologies to bring robot delivery to our students, faculty and staff on campus,” said Luigi Alberganti, executive director of campus dining. “The robots will provide increased accessibility to our campus units by conveniently bringing the food to our customers, filling a void in the service that we currently have.”

Each robot features an array of sensors to enable its autonomous navigation through the campus and can carry the equivalent of three shopping bags of goods. Users can track the robot’s progress via an interactive map, and unlock it via the app once it arrives. 

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“We’re excited to bring robot delivery to Notre Dame’s campus and continue supporting innovation within its campus dining program,” said Adam Herbert, Grubhub’s senior director of campus partnerships. “Robot delivery is a natural progression of the work we’ve been doing with Notre Dame for years. This includes offering mobile ordering, Grubhub Ultimate, a kiosk solution and pickup capabilities within the football stadium via lockers.” 

“We’ve been expanding our relationship with Grubhub and are pleased to announce that Notre Dame is our latest collaboration,” said Chris Neider, Starship Technologies’ vice president for business development. “We know the campus community will appreciate the convenience of on-demand deliveries, whether it’s to save time or to avoid some of the seasonal weather. The robots don’t mind the weather, regardless of rain, sleet or snow.”