The University of Houston is joining the roster of early adopters to deploy delivery robots on campus. Houston will partner with Starship Technologies, the company behind the autonomous, wheeled robots now on university campuses across the country.
As reported by Houston’s ABC 13, the robots will be on campus and ready to deliver student food and drink orders later this fall. Houston students will be able to place orders from their smartphone at dining location on campus and then have the order delivered via robot.
The concept of autonomous, robotic delivery on campus was seemingly sci-fi not that long ago. But Houston now joins George Mason University, Northern Arizona University, the University of Pittsburgh, and most recently at Purdue University — the largest deployment of Starship robots on campus to date.
The food delivery @StarshipRobots are here! Make sure to check out our Instagram Story to learn how to use them like @purduemitch 🤖💛🖤 #TakeGiantLeaps #Purdue150 pic.twitter.com/nvmM8nMEOg
— Purdue University (@LifeAtPurdue) September 9, 2019
Starship Technologies says the robots travel at “pedestrian speed” between four and six miles per hour and navigate primarily on sidewalks. The robots employ a number of on-board sensors and cameras, as well as an obstacle detection system to avoid collisions.
