University of Arizona offers robotic delivery on campus
The University of Arizona is partnering with an on-demand delivery provider and AI-based autonomous delivery platform.
More than 50,000 autonomous deliveries were made via Cartken robots, in collaboration with Grubhub, on the University of Arizona campus during the 2022 - 2023 school year. Cartken robots first debuted on the University of Arizona’s campus in August 2022, just in time for the start of the school year.
The university had an existing partnership with Grubhub that allows students to use their meal plans to order food from on-campus restaurants via the Grubhub app for pickup. Through Cartken’s partnership with Grubhub, students are now able to select robot delivery as an option when ordering from 12 on-campus restaurants and dining facilities.
The integration allows students to order, track, and even unlock the robots right from their mobile devices. The median driving time for the Cartken robots was 12 minutes and 55 seconds per delivery. The more than 40 robots traveled more than 300 miles a day, with each robot averaging eight miles daily.
Cartken robots were responsible for an average of 400 student orders per day, with 444 orders in a single day being the record high over the first nine months of the partnership. Cartken robots are designed to navigate pavements, crosswalks and pedestrian paths within the campus area without human guidance.
The robots use Cartken's artificial intelligence (AI) and camera-based navigation and mapping technology, which the company developed for small autonomous vehicles to safely operate around pedestrians.
Grubhub is also partnering with self-driving, AI-powered robotics provider Cartken to bring robot delivery to students at Ohio State University
“At the University of Arizona, we pride ourselves on being an innovative institution, not only for learning, but overall student experience,” said Christine Carlson, director of dining and nutrition, University of Arizona. “Cartken’s robot delivery technology helps us provide students with more convenient dining options and access to food across campus. The students and staff really enjoy engaging with the robots.”
“The University of Arizona and Grubhub have been incredible partners in helping us scale and launch this program rapidly and successfully,” said Anjali Jindal Naik, COO and co-founder of Cartken. “Witnessing Cartken’s robot fleet operating at one of Grubhub’s largest university partners is a moment of immense pride and fulfillment.”