Grubhub has partnered with robot delivery provider, Kiwibot, and has made the University of North Dakota the pair's first campus client. Going forward, the partnership will provide robot delivery services on college campuses across the United States.
Kiwibot joins Grubhub's existing robot delivery partners, Cartken and Starship. In total, Grubhub is supporting robot delivery on a dozen college campuses across the country.
"When it comes to the campus dining experience, we see robot delivery as a complementary offering to traditional delivery since the robots can navigate hard-to-reach areas on campuses," says Adam Herbert, senior director of campus partnerships at Grubhub. "Our campus partners have been asking for us to help bring this delivery option to their school, and we are excited to partner with Kiwibot to expand this innovative and convenient type of delivery to more colleges across the country."
"Our partnership with Grubhub means we'll be able to provide an integrated delivery service that allows students to experience Kiwibot delivery right from Grubhub's app," says Felipe Chávez, CEO of Kiwibot.
North Dakota students will be able to select robot delivery via the Grubhub app from on-campus dining locations, including the Memorial Union Food court and Wilkerson Dining Center.
The Kiwibots navigate using an autonomous system and can operate in snow and extreme weather conditions. The robots move at walking pace and can hold up to 25 pounds.
"Bringing a delivery service to campus was an offering we've been wanting to provide at the university, and we are excited for this innovative delivery service to become available to students," says Orlynn Rosaasen, director of dining services at the University of North Dakota. "We know just how busy students are, and this type of delivery will provide them with one more option to access food on campus during their busy days."
Grubhub currently partners with more than 250 college campuses across the United States. The company enables students to integrate meal plans directly into their Grubhub account and access restaurants both on- and off-campus for delivery and pickup.