Tue, Oct 31st, 2023 - 2:02pm
December 06, 2022 - 12:24pm | By Tom Tucker
(Fargo, ND) -- A new food delivery option will soon be available on campus at UND.
"They're bringing the campus robots to do food delivery on campus. They're on campus now doing the mapping and testing and we're looking to launch the program sometime springs semester," said UND Dining Services Director Orlynn Rosaasen.
He says a fleet of 15 to 20 of the self-propelled robots will be in use on campus. The compact carts look like a small cooler, weigh about 40 pounds, navigate autonomously using GPS technology, and even come with four-wheel drive. Rosaasen says the AI powered robots are made available through a partnership between Kiwibot and Grubhub.
"They're not real big actually. They weigh about 40 pounds. They're probably, I'm going to say about 20 inches by 16 inches, you know they're four-wheel drive," said Rosaasen.
The robots use sensors and cameras that allow them to stop and avoid collisions. They run mostly on sidewalks but can also cross streets. Their top speed is about 4 miles per hour.
