USI introduces Kiwibot robots for campus dining services

VANDERBURGH COUNTY, Ind. (WEHT) — The University of Southern Indiana has kicked off another fall semester with 15 new “Kiwibots,” which the university calls “affordable, autonomous food service robots.”

Their purpose is to feed the university community and guests through the Grubhub app.

Anyone is able to use Grubhub and make their food choices, and they will be delivered to one of campus’s 70 pick-up locations.

A combo meal and two drinks are able to fit inside a Kiwibot.

“Our students like to see technology, and they interact with the robots — the robots communicate with them,” said Steve Bridges, who serves as the university’s vice president for finance and administration. “So it’s really exciting to bring that to campus, and I think — what we hear from other campuses — students often engage with these and sort of protect them and take care of them and develop a connection with these robots. So, it’s really exciting to have them to campus.”

USI students have already taken notice of the Kiwibots and say they are ready to use them.

“They’re so adorable. They get nervous going down the street, and I think it’s so cute,” said freshman student Makayla Kozel. “They have those little faces, and I love that. I’ve just been seeing them running around. They just stop right in front of you if they sense movement.”

“And they’ll change their eyes too,” freshman student Kennedy Shoultz added.

Meanwhile, campus was hit with temperatures into the 90s on Monday afternoon, which led some students to take matters into their own hands.

Members of the Christian organization Young Life handed out free Kool-Aid to everyone passing by.

“I like the people here. I’ve made lots of friends. This is my second year here, and I think it would be really nice to just make someone’s day,” student leader Bryce Baker said. “If they had a bad class, Kool Aid maybe cheers them up a little bit.”