By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
The Starship robots are getting ready to expand their territory.
On Thursday (April 16) the self-driving delivery vehicles headed out to map the streets of neighborhoods more than a mile from campus where they established their foothold. The new area includes student housing complexes on Gypsy Lane and Napoleon Road. The area comprises 2.8 square miles.
John Zachrich, director of marketing and communications for BGSU Dining Services, said students living off campus and community members have been asking for the service to expand. Given the stay at home orders, dining services decided this would be a good time to expand.
The reduction in traffic also helps with the mapping process.
The initial mapping involves a person accompanying the robot, and then a solo robot will return for a second round. If a robot runs into problems, it can call for help from a remote operator.
Starship already operates in 10 cities in five countries, Zachrich said. “The system was already in place for them to know how to go through neighborhoods,” that includes navigating crosswalks, roads and railroad crossings. The lithium-ion battery powered Starship robots have traveled 5 million miles, he said.
The delivery service is expected to be operational sometime next week. There’s not a firm start date, he said. The mapping process can be slowed by bad weather.
While the service is aimed at students, he said, “we’d love to have community members use the system.”
Dining services is concentrating on this expansion, he said, but future expansion could be possible if there is enough demand.
Also, a possibility in the future would be deliveries from non-campus businesses. While there’s been interest expressed on both sides, the talks about how that could happen are in the very early stages.
