The following press release is being shared by the City of Brookings on behalf of Starship Technologies and South Dakota State University because it contains information relevant to the residents of Brookings South Dakota.
Disclaimer: The following message is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to promote or endorse the products/services offered.
Please direct any questions you may have to Starship Technologies.
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Starship Technologies Expands Delivery Area at South Dakota State University
On-demand robot delivery service now available off-campus
Starship Technologies has announced that it is expanding its robot delivery service in Brookings, home of South Dakota State University. On-demand robot delivery is now available off-campus in a new service area bordered by the north side of 6th Street, between 9th and 20th Avenues.
The robots made their debut at SDSU in November 2021 and have quickly become a hit. Due to the demand for delivery, SDSU and the City of Brookings wanted to make this service available to more restaurants and consumers and give the residents of Brookings an opportunity to try this innovative service.
To get started, users open the Starship Food Delivery app (iOS and Android) to choose from a range of their favorite food or drink items, then drop a pin where they want their delivery to be sent. They can then watch as the robot makes its journey to them, via an interactive map. Once the robot arrives, they receive an alert, and can then meet and unlock it through the app. The robots make one delivery at a time – whether it’s an individual or group order - so the person who placed the order is the only one who can unlock the robot, making the order as secure as possible. The delivery usually takes just a matter of minutes, depending on the menu items ordered and the distance the robot must travel. Each robot can carry about three shopping bags of goods.
“We’re really excited for residents and off-campus students to try our service,” said Ryan Tuohy, SVP of Business Development and Sales at Starship Technologies. “Everyone loves the convenience of on-demand delivery and our environmentally friendly robots operate whenever people need them. We look forward to adding more restaurants soon.”
Starship Technologies operates commercially on a daily basis around the world. Its zero-emission robots have made more than 3 million autonomous deliveries, traveled millions of miles and make more than 140,000 road crossings every day. The robots use a combination of sophisticated machine learning, artificial intelligence and sensors to travel on sidewalks and navigate around obstacles. The computer vision-based navigation helps the robots to map their environment to the nearest inch. The robots can cross streets, climb curbs, travel at night and operate in both rain and snow. A team of humans can also monitor their progress remotely and have the ability to take control at a moment’s notice. Starship hires a team of student works on every campus, giving them real-world experience in AI and the future of transportation.
“With the expansion of the robots to the north side of 6th Street, between 9th and 20th Avenues, residents will now see robots delivering off-campus. Because of this, residents may wonder how this will affect traffic and the use of roadways. They may also see the robots traveling on sidewalks. It’s important to note the robots will be following traffic laws. Just be aware of the new pedestrians in town; watch for them and respect their space just as you would a human pedestrian.” said Chelsie Bakken public information officer.
While the robots primarily operate on sidewalks, they also use crosswalks as needed to complete a delivery. Residents who see robots in crosswalks, should slow down and proceed with caution, similar to what they would do if pedestrians or pets are in the crosswalk. The robots are designed to maneuver around objects in its path and prioritize safety wherever they operate.
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About South Dakota State University
Founded in 1881, South Dakota State University is the state’s Morrill Act land-grant institution as well as its largest, most comprehensive school of higher education. SDSU confers degrees from seven different colleges representing more than 200 majors, minors and specializations. The institution also offers 37 master’s degree programs, 15 Ph.D. and two professional programs.
The work of the university is carried out on a residential campus in Brookings, at sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City, and through Extension offices and Agricultural Experiment Station research sites across the state. SDSU's research expenditures for the 2019 fiscal year were more than $65 million.
About Starship Technologies
Starship Technologies is revolutionizing deliveries with autonomous robots. The robots are designed to deliver food, groceries and packages locally in minutes. The delivery robots have traveled millions of miles and completed over 3m autonomous deliveries around the world. They drive autonomously but are monitored by humans who can take control at any time. Starship was founded by Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis (Skype Chief Architect and Co-founder) and Alastair Westgarth is the CEO.