Grubhub, Kiwibot Expand Robot Delivery Service at College Campuses

Automated robot deliveries will soon be available across increased numbers of university campuses, following a new collaboration between food ordering service Grubhub and robotics company Kiwibot.

Under the partnership, robot delivery will be available at the University of North Dakota, before expanding to additional schools next summer.

The news follows Kiwibot’s launch of its robot delivery service at Loyola Mount University, with 25 of its self-navigating robots rolled out at the school’s High-Driving Automation Campus.

Adam Herbert, GrubHub senior director of campus partnerships, said robot delivery improves traditional food delivery services as it can cater to hard-to-reach areas or late-night orders.

“It is an exciting endeavor for Kiwibot to expand our partner base,” said Felipe Chávez, Kiwibot CEO. “Our partnership with Grubhub means we’ll be able to provide an integrated delivery service that allows students to experience Kiwibot delivery right from Grubhub’s app.”

“Bringing a delivery service to campus was an offering we’ve been wanting to provide at the university, and we are excited for this innovative delivery service to become available to students,” said Orlynn Rosaasen, University of North Dakota director of dining services. “We know just how busy students are, and this type of delivery will provide them with one more option to access food on campus during their busy days.”

The Kiwibots are fitted with an array of camera sensors and AI technologies to navigate their surroundings and can operate in snow and extreme weather conditions. For safety, they move at the same speed as a human walking pace and can carry up to 25 pounds of goods.

The autonomous robots also feature a touchscreen interface that lights up with different faces, in an update Kiwibot says makes the robots an “emotion” delivery service that “brings joy” as well as food to user.