亚洲AV

Delivery robots keep rolling during campus closure

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Three Starship robots sit queued on the sidewalk outside some academic buildings on the Fairfax Campus.
The Starship robots are delivering food to the approximately 400 students still living on campus. Photo by Lathan Goumas/Office of Communications and Marketing.

Just about every day, 亚洲AV resident student Clinton Carlson Jr. opens his Eastern Shore Hall door to greet a friend. Their visit is brief, and their sparse conversation one-sided, but they do share a momentary touch before going their separate ways.

With these interactions, Carlson Jr. isn鈥檛 violating social distancing norms, he鈥檚 following them. His frequent visitor is one of the Starship Robots that deliver food on the Fairfax Campus.

When Mason became the first university in the country to roll out this new take on meals on wheels in January 2019, the conveyances were regarded as a cool, convenient novelty that drew curious looks and garnered . Now they are important contributors to Mason鈥檚 COVID-19 response.

The robots deliver coffee, food and other items from the Northern Neck Starbucks, Wing Zone, convenience store One Stop, and late-night fare from the Mason Club, to some of the approximately 400 students living in Mason residence halls, and to faculty and staff whose roles require that they report to campus for work. (Southside is open for students to pick up grab-and-go meals at breakfast, lunch and dinner).

A Starship robot moves down the sidewalk towards the camera.
Photo by Lathan Goumas/Office of Communications and Marketing.

鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like [the robots] provide a sense of comfort,鈥 said Carlson Jr., 26, who continues to live on campus because of extenuating family circumstances. 鈥淎lmost a nurturing environment. I know they鈥檙e just delivering food, but the feelings of when you see a best friend or something are kind of the same feelings I get. It鈥檚 actually coming to help and support me like a friend I haven鈥檛 seen in a while.鈥

The robots greet their recipients with a mechanical, 鈥淗ello, here鈥檚 your delivery,鈥 and depart with, 鈥淭hank you. Have a nice day.鈥 These days, a programmed response from an autonomous vehicle passes for in-person interaction, and yes, the robots are sanitized after each trip.

Mason dining officials knew the boxy white pedestrians would provide a valuable service during and after a weather event. Pandemic response? Not part of the plan.

鈥淭he reality is that without the robots the possibility of us having retail options open at this time with the social distancing and the low customer rate might not otherwise be possible,鈥 said Bridget Bukovich, field marketing specialist for . 鈥淏ut because we have robots in place we鈥檙e able to provide more services than usual.鈥

You never know when you might need one. Josh Cantor, director of Parking and Transportation, based in the Nottoway Annex, recently placed an order to Starbucks. When the robot arrived with his mocha, Cantor posted a picture to Facebook and deemed the robot an 鈥渆ssential employee.鈥 The trip saved Cantor about 45 minutes鈥攁nd prevented further wear and tear on a pinched nerve in his back.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to take a break and go somewhere on campus,鈥 Cantor said. 鈥淪ome of the parking staff can鈥檛 really make it somewhere. It鈥檚 convenient, and for folks with mobility impairment, it鈥檚 a great thing to have.鈥

With the campus nearly empty, sales are modest. On April 1, Sodexo reported about 12 robot-delivered transactions per day from Starbucks during the 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. window it is open, and about 10 transactions per day from One Stop when it began robot deliveries on March 30.

But for the grateful few on the receiving end, those six wheels rolling up to the building are a welcome sight. Carlson Jr., an integrative studies major with a concentration in personal health and well-being, and executive director of the Resident Student Association, described himself as an intermittent user of the robots before the COVID-19 outbreak. Because of allergies and a slightly compromised immune system, he has to be extra careful about limiting his exposure to the virus.

鈥淚 know my risk makes it more kind of real for me,鈥 Carlson Jr. said. 鈥淭he robots provide a safeguard where I鈥檓 not directly having to interact with people but also taking care of myself.鈥