Starship Technologies made its Fordham University debut on Tuesday, Aug. 26, with nine new food delivery robots accessible to students on the Rose Hill campus.
In partnership with Grubhub, the order-ahead app that Fordham has used for years, these robots provide students remote access to five on-campus food establishments: Bronx Bagel Company, Così, Dagger John’s, The Grotto and Urban Kitchen.
To purchase the food, students can only use dining dollars or a credit card since meal swipes do not currently work with this system. Each robot can be tracked in the Grubhub app and takes 30 to 40 minutes to arrive. Upon arrival, students get a text telling them that the robot is at the pickup location outside the building they have chosen. The student must then click a button on the Grubhub app, “I found the robot — Unlock” to get their food and must click a button once more once they have taken their food out, “Send the robot away.”
Despite the university’s promotion of the positive aspects of the new system, there are some complications that students have noted, both in terms of technology and student opinion. The Fordham Ram is currently awaiting a response from the university’s administration on their official statement.
While the delivery system claims to have access to the aforementioned five establishments, all of the order-ahead options typically provided from these places are not available.
For example, students do not have a way to simply order soup from Così via the robots; if they want soup, they have to choose the “Taste Two Combos,” meaning they would only get a “Half Soup” alongside a sandwich, salad or another “Half Soup.” Dagger John’s doesn’t have anything available to order, making it unavailable as an option altogether. Drinks are unavailable to order via robot across all locations.
Aside from the various technological issues, many students have expressed displeasure with the university incorporating this system on campus. Many student believe the university spent a large amount of money on the robots.
Elisabeth Snyder, FCRH ’28, complained about the potential of university money going towards the new system, especially following recent tuition increases. “Is this what we raised our tuition for? … We could’ve used this money on improving the dorms, or doing anything to better the campus and instead we bought robots?” said Snyder.
Olivia Peto, FCRH ’28, noted potential alternatives to the delivery service. “I think if they really wanted a delivery thing, they could pay students to do it,” Peto said. She also shared that another student had already brought up this idea in a more formal setting. “Our friend’s ground-floor [project]was a student delivery service … like, students would deliver food on campus. And I was like, ‘That’s a really good idea,’” she continued.
Leah Renshaw, FCRH ’27, utilized the robot delivery service over the weekend. Upon inquiry as to how the process went, Renshaw shared mixed reviews. “My experience using the robot was not terrible. It was able to accurately find where I was. The instructions were a little bit unclear, and I wasn’t sure that I needed to go back into the app to be able to get the robot open, but once I figured that out it was pretty easy to use,” she said.
When asked why she hasn’t used the robots yet, Emily Green, GSB ’28, mentioned that the payment method deterred her: “It’s stupid…you have to use your dining dollars for them.” When asked if they would use the system if meal swipes were included as a payment option, the responses varied.
Snyder said she would use the robots if meal swipes could be used, but specified the circumstances. “If I was sick or if it was really cold and I didn’t want to go outside … but only if they changed it to meal swipes though because I’m really stingy with my dining dollars,” she said.
When interviewed about the delivery system, former United Student Government (USG) vice president of facilities and dining Mike A. Rodriguez, FCRH ’27, shared a similar sentiment to other students. “I do believe that meal swipes would be an awesome addendum to the implementation,” he said.
There is hope for meal swipes to be added as a payment option. During her interview, current USG Vice President of facilities and dining Madeleine Ando, FCRH ’27, confirmed that this addendum is in the works, but cannot confirm a timeline for the implementation.
Ando also voiced strong support for the robots, citing her work as a committee member for the USG Diversity Action Coalition (DAC) on increased accessibility for those with disabilities on campus as a reason. Ando shared, “Our stance is these robots will allow for greater accessibility to food options on campus.”
However, Ando noted that this system isn’t just helpful for those students with disabilities, but all college students as well. “We’re on-the-go students, and they allow us to be on-the-go and get nutritious food for wherever we are on campus,” said Ando.
This is a developing story.
