Robots Delivering All Over SUNY Campus in Upstate NY

It's like the Jetsons cartoon, but it doesn't fly. Food delivery at a high tech campus in Central New York is coming from an autonomous robot from Starship Technologies.

Students, faculty, staff and visitors at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Marcy are enjoying their Grubhub deliveries of food and beverage the futuristic way. On campus, students can order their Utica Coffee, Wildcat Grill, Lemon & Chile, and 400 Acre Cafe', located at the student center according to a release from SUNYPOLY. The deliveries happen anywhere on campus and are also a part of the student dining plan.

“At SUNY Poly, we actively look for ways to enhance the student experience,” Marybeth Lyons, VP for student affairs, said in a release. “The response from students to the robots’ presence on campus and the new service has been overwhelmingly positive. I applaud the hard work of our Auxiliary Services and Wildcat Hospitality teams in forging this new partnership with Starship Technologies and Grubhub, which only adds to our campus’ culture of innovation.”

The service works with the Grubhub app and comes with an interactive map so the buyer can watch the travels as the robot delivers the food. Upon arrival, students can go to the robot and through the app, unlock the delivery bin to get their delivery. The release claims that most deliveries take just minutes to arrive and each robot is able to carry the equivalent of three grocery bags filled with goods.

Grubhub and Starship aren't exclusive to SUNYPOLY. They've been providing robot food-delivery services across several campuses in the U.S., including the University of Kentucky, Fairfield University, SMU, UNLV, and Wayne State University.

According to the release, "Starship’s robots have made more than 5 million autonomous deliveries and traveled millions of miles. They make more than 150,000 road crossings every day. They use a combination of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and sensors to travel on sidewalks and navigate around obstacles. Computer vision-based navigation helps robots map their environment to the nearest inch. The robots can cross streets, climb curbs, travel at night, and operate in both rain and snow. A team of humans can also monitor their progress remotely and take control if needed."

“We always love bringing our Starship robots to schools that really embrace technology, and SUNY Poly is certainly one of those schools,” Starship VP of Business Development Chris Neider said. “We think the campus community will enjoy seeing our autonomous delivery technology on a daily basis and will also appreciate the convenience of on-demand delivery, especially as the colder weather starts,” she added.