Ohio Northern University brings food delivery robots to students in partnership with Sodexo

Kiwibot, a robotic sidewalk delivery startup, announced its arrival at Ohio Northern University to offer an affordable on-campus food delivery service for students, beginning Tuesday, Sept. 6.

By using this new service, students will be able to enjoy their food delivery with zero carbon emissions, helping them reduce their carbon footprints and encouraging delivery services to be as sustainable as possible.

Kiwibot’s track record is in part due to its ongoing relationship with Sodexo, a food services and facilities management company.

Through Sodexo’s new mobile application, Everyday, students can place an order with their chosen restaurant and a robot will pick up the food and deliver it to the selected drop-off location on campus. Users receive a unique link to track the order, follow the robot's location in real time, and then open the lid and enjoy their meal. The hours of operation are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

There will be 15 robots operating at Ohio Northern University. To ensure safe operations on campus, Kiwibot relies on advanced technology and a semi-autonomous driving system. The robots create a virtual visualization of the world in real time, using high-tech sensors, reflective flags, night lights and a range lidar. Human supervisors are on watch if additional assistance is needed and an on-site team will be ready for immediate support.

Kiwibots were on campus during move-in day and will make an appearance at the first football game of the season on Saturday, Sept. 3, in Dial-Roberson Stadium.