Fordham University rolls out food-delivery robots
Fordham University is now offering a fully automated delivery service. Through a partnership between Starship and Grubhub, people can order food from five on-campus restaurants to be delivered via robot.
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Fordham University is now offering a fully automated delivery service. Through a partnership between Starship and Grubhub, people can order food from five on-campus restaurants to be delivered via robot.
Once an order is placed on Grubhub, one of seven Starship robots will go to the restaurant, pick up the order, and deliver it anywhere on campus.
"I'm pretty excited for this. I think it's a great step forward for Fordham as well, and I hope we continue to see that trend," said Ayden Johnson, a student at Fordham.
Students told News 12 they feel this new technology will be extremely conveinent to use, especially during long study sessions at the library and between classes.
"It is a very big campus. And it is filled with some very bright and busy students, which breeds the perfect environment to use robots like these," said Madeleine Ando, the vice president of facilities and dining at Fordham.
The robots are programmed to navigate Fordham's 85-acre campus. The seven robots will be stationed at various restaurants waiting for orders. When they need to charge, the robots will go to a designated charging area on campus.
"We're so excited to bring Starship food delivery to Fordham's Rose Hill campus. It's not only an added convenience for the students, but it also is providing experiential learning opportunities for them. We're going to have several students employed as fleet attendants, who will be troubleshooting and maintaining the robots on campus," said Jane Martinez, the deputy spokesperson for the university.
The robots are currently in service for Grubhub orders placed at Bronx Bagel Co., Dagger Johns, Cosi, The Grotto and Urban Kitchen.
Fordham University is the second college campus in New York City to offer this automated delivery service.
