Russian Robots To Replace Delivery Drivers On College Campuses

CHICAGO — Don't be surprised to see small, six-wheeled Russian robots stuffed with late-night munchies rolling around college campuses this fall.

Company officials announced a multi-year partnership between Chicago-based online food delivery service Grubhub and Yandex Self-Driving Group, a division of Russia's leading internet company.

Service from autonomous delivery robots about the size of beverage coolers will be available at some of the 250 college campuses where Grubhub already has partnerships.

“As we looked for a robot delivery partner, we recognized that we not only needed best-in-class technology, but the resources and scale to meet the unique demands of our campus clients,” Sean Ir, Grubhub's director of strategic partnerships, said in a release. “Yandex was the clear choice, and together we will serve colleges and universities across the country better than ever before.”

More versatile than cars, the robots can handle uneven pavement, crosswalks and bad weather. When the rovers arrive at their destination, consumers can use the app to unlock the robot and remove their food — skipping the tip and any other human interaction.

About a hundred of the robots have been operating in Russia since late last year, and a pilot program in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been underway since April. And since last fall, Yandex has also been testing its self-driving cars in the college town, where authorities permit the company to operate cars without an engineer on board.

Brian Madigan, Grubhub's vice president of corporate and campus partners, said the robots would change the way that college students experienced food deliveries.

“We’re excited to offer these cost-effective, scalable and quick food ordering and delivery capabilities to colleges and universities across the country that are looking to adapt to students’ unique dining needs," Madigan said.

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The companies did not disclose any financial terms of the deal. But according to Bloomberg, Grubhub's share of the U.S. food delivery market has dropped by nearly a third over the past three years. And last month, the Amsterdam-based company Just Eat Takeaway.com completed its purchase of Grubhub.

Dmitry Polishchuk, chief executive officer of Yandex Self-Driving Group, said in the statement that the company picked Grubhub for a college delivery partnership because of its existing on-campus reach and flexibility of its ordering platform.

"We are delighted to deploy dozens of our rovers," Polishchuk said, "taking the next step in actively commercializing our self-driving technology in different markets across the globe."