Ball State food delivery robots reassigned as company moves off college campuses
Ball State University’s food delivery robots won’t be delivering any more meals on the campus. As IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports, that’s because the robot delivery company is changing its focus.
Audio Transcript
“Hello, I’m a Starship Delivery Robot.”
Ball State’s fleet of 24 food delivery robots came online in late 2022. They rolled through campus daily, delivering food from dining hall locations, singing songs if programmed and saying “thank you” to customers.
Now, owner Starship Technologies, based in Estonia, is removing its robots from all U.S. college campuses.
In a statement this month, the company says it is “shifting its strategic focus to retail grocery chains and hot food delivery in cities across Europe and the United States.”
The company said operating on college campuses gave it “real-world delivery data” from a controlled environment, but it’s now ready to deliver in “open urban environments.”
Starship touted it was operating on more than 60 campuses across the U.S. Besides Ball State, Purdue University has had the robots since 2019 and the University of Notre Dame was added in 2023.
A staff member of Ball State’s dining services saw a Starship representative come to collect Ball State’s fleet. When asked for comment, Ball State said, “Ball State’s Dining Services remains committed to delivering top-quality food service to our students, faculty, staff, and visitors — including through innovative distribution solutions — and will actively pursue potential alternatives that meet the needs of our campus community.”
Stephanie Wiechmann is our Managing Editor and “All Things Considered” Host. Contact her at slwiechmann@bsu.edu.
