University of Minnesota launches campus robot food delivery

Driving the news: The U announced the debut of both the Starship Technologies robots and its university-run food delivery service on Wednesday.

How it works: Student, faculty staff and visitors can use Starship's app to place and track orders placed from the Panda Express, Starbucks and Erbert & Gerbert's locations in Coffman Memorial Union.

• When the robot arrives, the customer uses the app to unlock the compartment and retrieve their meal.
• Delivery range covers most of the East Bank.

Zoom in: The U says the robots, which look like white coolers on wheels with flags, use "sophisticated machine learning, artificial intelligence and sensors" to cross streets, climb curbs, roll at night and trek through rain and snow.

• The initial cost was covered by the company the U hires to run its dining programs at no additional expense to the school, a spokesperson said.

Zoom out: Other campuses throughout the country have been using these robots since at least 2019.

• Starship says it is now serving at least 50 colleges nationwide.