Starship rolls out its food delivery robots at University of Idaho

Vandals on the University of Idaho Moscow campus can have robots deliver food from several Idaho Eats locations, including Qdoba, True Burger, Einstein Bros Bagels and Cravings by Joe via Starship Technologies’ fleet of 15 autonomous food delivery robots.

Cami McClure, assistant vice president for auxiliary services at U of I, says: “We’re excited to bring this service to a wide array of our dining options.

“The university community is eager for on-campus dining delivery and now, with Starship Technologies, we are able to offer a fun, fast and friendly way to deliver.”

U of I is the first university in Idaho to introduce robot food delivery service. Students and employees can now use the Starship Food Delivery app (iOS and Android) to order food and drinks to be delivered anywhere on campus, within minutes. The delivery service works in conjunction with Idaho Eats meal plans and Vandals may pay using Dining Dollars.

The app allows users to watch the robot’s journey in real time through an interactive map. Once the robot arrives, the user will receive an alert, and they can meet the robot and unlock it through the app.

The delivery usually takes just a matter of minutes, depending on the menu items ordered and the distance the robot must travel. Robots can carry the equivalent of about three shopping bags of groceries.

Starship is already providing services to campuses across the country, including UT Dallas, University of Houston, University of Nevada, Reno and Bowling Green State University.

Ryan Tuohy, senior vice president of business development and sales at Starship Technologies, says: “We are very pleased to expand our services to Idaho.

“We think the entire campus community will love seeing the robots roaming around campus and appreciate the convenience of on-demand deliveries, whether that means skipping long lines, sleeping in or getting deliveries for late night studies.”

Starship plans to hire students to work with the Starship fleet.

Mo Alhabashneh, Idaho Eats resident district manager, says: “We’re thrilled to be the first to welcome the Starship robots to Idaho and the Vandal community.

“This innovative technology will enhance our level of service and make our dining options readily available to all Vandals wherever they find themselves on campus.”