Tennessee Tech has partnered with Starship Technologies to launch an autonomous robotic delivery service for campus dining.
News and Public Relations Director Jonathan Frank said the university is the second university in Tennessee to implement this technology for its students. The program allows individuals to order meals through a smartphone app and have them delivered by a robot to the nearest sidewalk at their location.
“We’re a big campus, and so if you’re somewhere like the Varsity Building, Foundation Hall, Tech Village, you might be a little bit further from some of those campus dining locations,” Frank said. “So now you can order in the app and the Starship delivery robot will bring it right to you.”
Frank said the service is currently in a soft launch phase with several dining locations already integrated into the system. Users must enter their university credentials into the app to place orders from campus eateries such as Starbucks, Which Wich, and Poet’s Coffee.
“The menu prices do not change,” Frank said. “So, whether you’re ordering in person or from the Starship delivery robot, the base menu price is going to be the same; there’s just a modest service fee.”
The robots utilize built-in cameras and security features to navigate the campus landscape. Frank said the machines have been on campus for some time, learning routes and testing the technology to ensure they can safely travel between buildings and around construction zones.
“Starship Technologies has told us that at other universities, students have started to kind of adopt this almost like a secondary mascot,” Frank said. “And so I think students are going to have a lot of fun engaging with the robots.”
Frank said Dining Services Director Dirk Anderson and the auxiliary services team explored the delivery option as a way to save time for students, faculty, and staff. The university plans to continue adding dining locations to the app throughout the summer.
“We’re a STEM-infused university, and so we embrace technology at Tennessee Tech,” Frank said. “We’re excited to be the first university in Middle Tennessee to adopt this. But we say students first, that’s our mantra at Tennessee Tech. I think it’s another way we’re putting students first.”
The university expects the robotic delivery service to be fully operational by the start of the fall semester.