UNM Food partners with Starship Technologies to launch robot delivery service

Albuquerque, N.M. / San Francisco, Calif. - Grubhub and Starship Technologies, in partnership with UNM Food, will be rolling out a robot food delivery service on The University of New Mexico's (UNM) campus on Monday, Aug.19.

Starship's fleet of autonomous, on-demand robots will deliver from eight campus eateries: Blake's Lotaburger, Draft & Table, Dion's, Einstein's Bros. Bagels, Mandalay Express, Starbucks, Subway, and The Drop. UNM's students, faculty, and staff can now use the Grubhub app (available on iOS and Android) to order food and drinks from local retailers to be delivered anywhere on UNM's central campus, within minutes. The service works in conjunction with UNM meal plans.

Aaron Herrera, a student at UNM expressed excitement for the arrival of the automated service, "I think the Starship robots are really cute and fun to see around campus. It's always exciting to see more innovative technology on campus and I hope everyone enjoys sharing space with them."

Grubhub and Starship are already providing robot food delivery services to campuses across the country, including University of Kentucky, Fairfield University, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Wayne State University and Southern Methodist University. Since launch, all campuses have increased the number of robots, dining options, and hours of operation to meet the high demand for the service.

To get started, users open the Grubhub app, choose from a range of their favorite food or drink items, then select the location for their delivery to be sent. They can then watch as the robot makes its journey to them, via an interactive map. Once the robot arrives, they receive an alert, and can then meet 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. Each robot can carry the equivalent of about three shopping bags of goods.

Starship Technologies operates commercially on a daily basis around the world. Its zero-emission robots have made nearly 7 million autonomous deliveries, traveled millions of miles and make more than 150,000 road crossings every day. The robots use a combination of sophisticated machine learning, artificial intelligence and sensors to travel on sidewalks and navigate around obstacles. The computer vision-based navigation helps the robots to map their environment to the nearest inch. The robots can cross streets, climb curbs, travel at night and operate in both rain and snow.

"Having delivery robots on our campus is more than just a convenience-it shows our commitment to staying at the forefront of technology and innovation," said Alicia Solano, Assistant Vice President of Campus Business Services. "Through a rigorous RFP process, we carefully selected partners who share our vision for enhancing the campus experience in a meaningful way. This collaboration with Grubhub and Starship Technologies not only streamlines daily life for our students, faculty, and staff but also aligns with our broader goals of sustainability and efficiency. We're excited to see how this cutting-edge service will enrich our campus community."

About UNM Food
UNM Food is an inclusive and creative food service program that supports academic success and builds a community environment within The University. UNM Food is known for offering diverse, high-quality food options. Whether customers prefer various retail outlets in the Student Union Building or across campus, UNM Food leaves customers with an unforgettable and positive experience. UNM Food is led by Amanda Gerard, who is committed to providing innovative and exceptional food experiences for the campus community.

About Starship Technologies
Starship Technologies is revolutionizing deliveries with autonomous robots. The robots are designed to deliver food, groceries and packages locally in minutes. The delivery robots have traveled millions of miles and completed nearly seven million autonomous deliveries around the world. Starship was founded by Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis (Skype Chief Architect and Co-founder).