Remember the post in this space about a Bacon vending machine at an Ohio agricultural college? And the multiple stories we’ve posted about robot food delivery schemes in development? Put them together and you’ve got a new vending machine on wheels…
The Pepsico Snackbot brigade: Bringing snacks right to students doors
(almost) at the University of the Pacific, Stockton CA.
The system is the brainchild of Robby Technologies, a California robotics and autonomous vehicle company, and the sponsor of its latest, most ambitious rollout is Pepsico. The joint venture is sending a fleet of Robby vehicles out across the campus of the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California (UPS). Students with a university e-mail account, running a special Robbie app on their smart phones, can summon a Robby when they need fuel during the day, from 9 to 5. Robby currently offers an array of ‘healthier’ options including Baked Lays Chips, Sun Chips and Starbuck’s bottled Cold Brew.
Proof of concept…
For this test, Robby will be able to respond to any of 50 preset locations on the campus where it will automatically open up allowing the kids to purchase their choice of snacks. But the Robby system is capable of much more. The all-electric vehicle – which reminds one of a big Rubbermaid storage tub on wheels – is said to have a range of 20 miles / 32 km per charge and features 6-wheel all-wheel drive which enables it to climb curbs and negotiate substantial grades. Company videos show it using sidewalks and crosswalks and climbing steps. I hope it can see me coming if it encounters me on a sidewalk. What will municipal officials say about this? Most major cities already ban bicycles and other wheeled vehicles from the their people-ways.
Still a long way to go…
But Pepsi and Robby are aiming to expand the service to more than 50,000 ‘touchpoint’ destinations at UPS and, though the Robby vehicles now in use are capable of handling only shelf-stable snacks, it’s hoped that refrigeration and heating will be added to future models allowing them to offer a much wider range of foods. Another eventual goal is expanding service to 24/7, rain or shine.
Into the food deserts?
The Robby people are also thinking forward to a day when future versions of their vehicles will rove into urban and rural ‘food deserts’ bringing a full array of grocery items to those who do not have access to a supermarket. The problem of food deserts is increasingly concerning public health officials who warn that such areas will suffer a whole catalogue of diet-related diseases and disorders.
The Robomart system employs an electric autonomous vehicle about the size of a Smart car equipped with refrigeration and a large bay to display fresh produce. It can already be configured to handle any kind of food product and has a respectable operating range which uses the same streets as cars and trucks. Robomart may well be the best answer to the challenge of ‘feeding’ food deserts. But The Robby system seems ideal form servicing the casual dining needs of communities such as college and commercial campuses, resorts and small, self-contained residential communities.
Caveats…
Today’s smart vending systems all rely on the consumer having a smart phone running a proprietary app. That method of access and payment will likely continue to be the industry norm for some time to come. This may not be a significant bar for most college students or other well-off users to meet, but for the elderly (who are not always up-to-date tech-wise) and the lower-income folks in the food deserts, it may prove an insurmountable barrier to access. Would it be too much trouble for the financial wizards to install good, old fashioned card-or-cash-handling devices on these new-fangled delivery systems?
~ Maggie J.