Robots to deliver food on Ball State campus

MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) — A fleet of 24 robots will provide food, snack, and drink delivery from a variety of dining locations on Ball State’s campus, according to a news release.

Starship Technologies launched Wednesday for the use by its entire campus community.

“The Starship robots provide our students, faculty and staff, and campus visitors a safe and effective way to have food delivered to their location,” said Karen Adkins, senior director of auxiliary services for dining, catering, and events. “This will make for a more enjoyable campus experience while saving time for those who use the service.”

Individuals wanting to utilize the robots must download the Starship Food Delivery app in the App Store or Google Play. Once in the app, users can order from their favorite campus dining locations, select a delivery location or drop a pin where they’d like to meet the robot, and have food delivered anywhere on campus. Other details, including hours of operation and from which dining locations food is available for delivery, will be available in the app.

Each robot comes equipped with six wheels and obstacle detection, including 12 cameras, ultrasonic sensors, radars, and more.

Each robot can deliver the equivalent of three shopping bags of goods.

“We’re excited to expand our services in Indiana,” said Chris Neider, director of business development at Starship Technologies. “Ball State has a very close-knit campus and we think the students will love having the robots become part of their community to make their lives more convenient and probably a little more fun as well with robots!”

Find out more information by visiting the website here.