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Purdue University welcomes a robot delivery service

Beginning Monday, Purdue has about 30 new 5 feet tall delivery robots navigating their way around campus, as well delivering their favorite menu items.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WTHR) – Students from Purdue are still trying to find their way around campus and now they are not alone.

Beginning Monday, Purdue has about 30 new 2 feet tall delivery robots navigating their way around campus, as well delivering their favorite menu items.

Purdue likes to lead the way in so many things.

"Boiler up," the little bot said.

Now Purdue is the largest campus in the world to welcome autonomous robot delivery.

You download the app, place your order, enter a delivery destination and Starship delivers.

"We want to reinvent how things get delivered," Chris Neider from Starship Technologies stated.

Neider says the company, which was created by two of the founders of Skype, has equipped Starship with 10 cameras, radar and has a top speed of four mph.

"This can come out, keeps things hot on one side and cold on the other side and that is where your order will be," he demonstrated. And now there are 30 of them.

"Yes they are pretty cool," Junior Michael Harmon observed. "They are so cute. Dude look at them go. He's such a good boy."

"There were four when we walked in and there are 11 of them now," Junior Ross Davis added. "There is a army of them. I just think they are really cool."

Purdue President Mitch Daniels had the first delivery yesterday.

"Mitch Daniels patted it on the head and called it a good boy. I thought that was awesome," Davis continued.

"We are known as innovators, so landing ourselves into this model of innovation is pretty wrapped tightly into our DNA," Beth McCuskey the Vice Provost for Student Life for Purdue said.

So you track it on your cell phone and send it a signal you have it in sight.

Purdue may be the largest campus to offer Starship Robot Delivery but its not the only one. Students at George Mason and Northern Arizona are also enjoying this option.

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