CHICAGO, US – Grubhub, the leading online and mobile food-ordering and delivery platform on college campuses, and Yandex Self-Driving Group (SDG), a leading autonomous vehicles developer inside Yandex, one of Europe’s largest internet companies, will roll out delivery via Yandex’s robots at its first college campus — The Ohio State University (OSU).
More than 60,000 hungry Buckeyes will be able to order their favorite foods from on-campus dining locations via the Grubhub app and have them delivered by one of 50 Yandex robots operating at the OSU campus in a fast and cost-effective way. The rovers operate from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. Students can request robots to deliver food to every residence hall on campus as well as Thompson Library and Bricker Hall.
Yandex robots autonomously navigate pavements, campus crosswalks and pedestrian areas, which are notoriously challenging to reach by car. They move around a large university campus swiftly at 3 to 5 miles per hour during daytime and after dark and in various weather conditions, including rain and snow. The robots are spacious enough to fit a couple of coffees and a bagel sandwich, or multiple pizzas to share with friends, all while keeping the food at the right temperature.
“We’re excited to bring this cutting-edge and efficient delivery experience to students at The Ohio State University,” said Brian Madigan, vice president of corporate and campus partners at Grubhub. “OSU and Grubhub have worked together for years to offer students a variety of ways to enjoy the food they love on campus. Now we’re building on our efforts to enhance the dining experience through Yandex’s rover technology for quicker and easier deliveries.”
“By partnering with Grubhub, we can bring robotic delivery to some of the people who need it most – students, researchers and professors who are short on time,” said Peter Szelei, business development executive at Yandex SDG. “Not only do the rovers enhance the current food delivery options, but open new possibilities for smarter, better and faster dining. Imagine ordering morning coffee and grabbing it from a robot waiting at your doorstep as you head out to class, or studying in a park with friends and requesting a rover to roll up and deliver snacks. We’re thrilled to support making these possibilities a reality.”
“We pride ourselves on offering an exceptional dining experience to students, and we’re always looking to provide new ways to make getting food on campus as convenient as possible,” said Zia Ahmed, senior director, dining services at The Ohio State University.
