They’re back! Food delivery robots are back on campus at FGCU. But this time, they’re bigger, faster and smarter than the first batch.
Fifteen machines are toting eats from Einstein’s, Dunkin, Boor’s Head and Fresh Mex options everywhere on campus. They roll about 5 miles per hour and can sense obstacles up to 200 feet away.
Nick Freeman of FGCU Dining Services shared more details.
"They operate during our hours of operation and all orders are done through GrubHub. So we always will have something active on campus, whether that be in the morning hours, afternoon or evening, depending on where you're doing your order from," he said.
The company replacing the former Starship fleet is AVRide, which employs LIDAR technology, meaning that they can decipher colors. That means they “understand” what to do at stoplights.
The average time from order to delivery is 20 to 30 minutes.
And their vision is absolutely inhuman. "They can see everything from a 360 view through ultrasonic sensors," Freeman said. "So let's say there is a student or an object coming and approaching them, they're able to break, fully do a 360 with their wheels, move around that object.
"They are larger than the Starship box. They can hold about six large pizzas, and we do have beverage holders in them as well," he said.
"They are fully weather-equipped."
There are no delivery fees, and there’s a promotion running through the end of the semester, which is December 4th.
"An exciting launch that we included with the robots is a golden ticket campaign," Freeman explained. "We have 40 specific Grubhub tickets that are going out with the fleet. We're sprinkling [them] through the different locations. And if you happen to find a golden ticket, you can get $10 off your next order for the rest of the semester."
And no tipping required!
