Indiana University is launching autonomous food delivery robots to improve access to dining on campus.
IU is partnering with Grubhub and Avride to deploy 24 robots which will serve the campus. Starting June 8, the robots will deliver food to residence halls, academic buildings and outdoor spaces within the boundaries of State Road 46 Bypass, Third Street and Indiana Avenue.
Rahul Shrivastav, executive director of IU Dining and Hospitality, said they’d been looking since 2017 for a way to improve delivery services. Over the last 18 months, they tested the robots and decided how much food could fit.
“It was a lot of understanding if the food will transport well in there or not, if the beverages will transport well in there or not,” he said. “So, there's a lot of mapping, and also going over a lot of contract details. We want to make sure our students' data and everything else is preserved, and we want to make sure it's handed to a company that we can trust.”
These robots will operate between about 7 a.m. and midnight, in sunshine, rain and light snow.
“Food is about convenience and getting the food to them [students],” he said. “So, we're making sure that those who want it right there and right then, there's a way available for them to do that all.”
Food delivery robots have operated on college campuses around the country for years; they’ve also been seen at in-state schools, including Ball State University and Purdue University. Given how popular these robots have been elsewhere, Shrivastav expects similar results here.
“Once these are on campus, the demand increases,” he said. “The students actually start to adopt these robots and name them; we've seen that student behavior at other universities.”
During the summer, robots can deliver food from the Bookmarket at Wells Library, the Indiana Memorial Union and Eskenazi Art Café.
People can use the Grubhub app to unlock the robot when it reaches its destination. A charge of $3.50 is applied to each order regardless of distance; that money will go to the robot company to pay for upkeep. People can pay with Combo Meal scans, Dining Dollars, CrimsonCash or with a credit or debit card.
