Online and mobile food-ordering and delivery platform Grubhub is expanding its use of autonomous delivery robots at colleges nationwide.
Grubhub is partnering with Kiwibot, a last-mile robotic delivery company, to provide robot delivery services on college campuses. Robot delivery from Kiwibot and Grubhub will first be available at the University of North Dakota in December 2022, before rolling out to additional schools in the first academic semester of 2023.
University of North Dakota students will be able to select robotic delivery via the Grubhub app from on-campus dining locations. The Kiwibots rely on a high-driving autonomous system and can operate in snow and extreme weather conditions. For safety, they move at the same speed as a human walking pace, and can hold up to 25 pounds.
Grubhub’s partnership with Kiwibot builds on several other existing robotic delivery collaborations. The on-demand delivery provider also partners with autonomous delivery robot provider Starship Technologies to enable robotic deliveries at multiple colleges. Starship’s zero-emission robots can travel up to four miles per hour, carry the equivalent of three bags of groceries and operate in various weather conditions, including rain and snow.
