The college and university sector has played an unexpectedly important role as early adopters and has become the ideal testing ground for robots.
The food industry is driven to embrace automation more quickly by technological advancements in robotics and AI, operational cost advantages, and also major consumer and retailer shifts. In 2020, the food robotics market was valued at $1.9 billion and is expected to reach $4.0 billion by 2026. Such shifts are accelerating underpinned by the backdrop of the tight labor market and well-publicized worker shortages among restaurant employers.
College campuses are becoming important test beds for robotics in the early stages of development. The underlying factors of this industry-wide trend were clear: A good number of students living within a 30-minute radius of the campus provide rapid market responses from large demographics. Also, shorter approval periods by campus administrations can result in a more efficient rollout period. This contrasts with the tedious, many layers of bureaucracy required at the municipal level.
One recent case is the partnership between juice purveyor Jamba and Blendid to install robotic food kiosks at UCLA. Both companies specialize in robotic food service. As one of Blendid’s early partners, Jamba sees a big advantage to a college rollout.
CEO and co-founder of Blendid, Vipin Jain said “Our robotic smoothie kiosks provide a new way for college campuses around the country to meet students’ demand for fresh and nutritious on-the-go food options – where and when they want it”.
The concept of having robotics on campus isn’t foreign. Arizona State University, Purdue University, George Mason University, and Northern Arizona University joined the bandwagon led by Starship Technologies. The company also intends to place 25 Starship robots at the University of Illinois, Chicago, while the University of Nevada, Reno and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will get 20 robots each. With this addition, Starship now has over 1,000 delivery robots in its fleet.
The effect was overwhelming. Since the service launched, all campuses have extended operating hours, and increased the number of robots and dining options to meet the high demand.
Panera Bread, Starbucks, Panda Express and Panera Bread will also be part of Starship’s on-campus merchant network. Since its founding in 2014, the company has completed more than 1.5 million rides. In total, it has raised $102 million, including a recent $17 million funding round.