Free robots, Faster food: Food delivery goes high-tech at SU
- Tessah Good
- 5 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Robots have officially taken over.
Well, at least at Salisbury University.
Multiple robots have been spotted around campus. One robot was seen yesterday afternoon in front of the library. The four-wheeled device rolled its way to the Tunnel by Maggs Gym, before crossing the street to go to Fulton.
So, what are these robotic visitors?
The new robots are made by a company called Avride. They are designed to deliver Grubhub orders directly to students.
According to Grubhub's website, the robots will allow a faster, cheaper and contact free delivery to increase the safety of students.
A QR code can be found on the back of each robot. Students can scan the code to learn more about the different features of these devices. You can access the link here.
According to Avride's website, the robots have multiple cameras so it can see its surroundings, a 360-view sensor set with three sensor levels, and a lidar to allow it to operate in all weather conditions and at all times of the day.
The robot also has ultrasonic sensors, which helps it to quickly react to incoming cars and pedestrians, a battery life of more than 12 hours and a computer unit to ensure optimal performance.
SGA President Jahnaiya Sutherland said the university will be getting six robots. She is unsure if all six robots are on campus yet.
"Once they are completely instituted in the spring there should be six and depending on how the university likes them, we may get more," Sutherland. "I believe they are just getting the landscape of the university right now."
She said there are no financial costs associated with the new robots.
"It's actually free," Sutherland said. Grubhub is doing it because of the size of our institution and because of how much students use the Grubhub app.
"We have about 7,000 undergraduate students, give or take some are online and some commute, but the amount of students who use the Grubhub app has actually shown Grubhub this will be a good investment on our campus."
Commons Marketing Assistant Xavier Dailey said a lot is still unknown about the new robots. Currently, they are in the process of working all the information out.
"Everything's up in the air right now," Dailey said. "Nothing is set in stone.
"We are getting robots but the when, what, where, why and how is still up in the air."
SU student Brendan Wilberger said he is excited to see SU's newest addition.
"I think it will benefit the campus community," Wilberger said. "Most campuses nowadays have these, so it shows Salisbury is keeping up with the times."
Check out @salisburyflyer on Instagram to see the robot in action.
By TESSAH GOOD
Editor-in-Chief