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Robots Provide Contactless Food Delivery at Oregon State University Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Oregon State University provided a novel solution to the need for contactless food delivery on campus amid the coronavirus pandemic, using a fleet of autonomous robots.

The university claims to be the first campus in the state to use the technology in this way.

“The robots have mapped the Corvallis campus using GPS and are able to find locations around the grounds,” a statement from the university said. “They use a combination of sophisticated machine learning, artificial intelligence and sensors to travel on sidewalks and navigate around obstacles.”

While the COVID-19 pandemic created a demand for the contactless service, plans to use the robots were underway beforehand.

The robots are made by San Francisco company Starship Technologies, which has used the robots at other universities including Arizona State University and the University of Texas Dallas, according to their website.

Oregon recorded its highest daily new cases numbers on October 24, with 550 new cases confirmed by state health officials. Credit: Oregon State University via Storyful