NEW ORLEANS and SAN FRANCISCO | September 8, 2023
Starship Technologies will roll out its robot food delivery service Sept. 6 at the University of New Orleans.
Starship’s fleet of autonomous, on-demand robots will deliver from several campus eateries, including the Sandbar, Subway, PJ’s, Brewed Awakening and Bowl Life. The school’s nearly 9,000 students and faculty can now use the Starship app (iOS and Android) to order food and drinks to be delivered anywhere on campus within minutes. The service works in conjunction with the student meal plan.
“New Orleans is a great city for food and we’re excited to be a part of that as we begin food deliveries for the University of New Orleans,” said Chris Neider, VP of business development at Starship Technologies, which is headquartered in San Francisco. “Our robots make it easy and convenient to get food delivered when and where they want it and we think they will quickly become a favorite with the campus community.”
Starship is already providing services at Purdue University, James Madison University, the University of Mississippi and Arizona State University. The company said its zero-emission robots have made more than 5 million autonomous deliveries, traveled millions of miles, and make more than 150,000 road crossings every day around the world. 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. A team of humans can also monitor their progress remotely and can take control at a moment’s notice.
“We are excited to bring this high-tech service to our varied dining options,” Marco A. Pérez, UNO’s associate vice president for auxiliary services. “The university community is eager and excited for on-campus dining delivery and now, with Starship Technologies, we are able to offer a fun, fast and friendly way to deliver.”
