r/Purdue • u/MixerBlaze Robotics Engineering Technology '28 • Jun 25 '26
Newsđ° RIP Starship Robots
https://www.jconline.com/story/news/local/purdue/2026/06/24/starship-robots-ending-service-at-purdue-university/90683135007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z113005p001550c001550e009900v113005d--30--b--30--&gca-ft=6&gca-ds=sophiStarship Technologies is permanently ending its autonomous food delivery operations on U.S. college campuses, including Purdue University. The company is redeploying its 1,200 campus robots to urban markets in the U.S. and Europe to focus on profitable grocery and hot food delivery.
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u/BerryTea840 Jun 25 '26
I used to walk in front of them a tiny bit just to help them cross the street. Otherwise they were always too timid.
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u/7kyr Jun 26 '26
Thank you. You've probably helped a starship deliver my order after it waited ten minutes at a light
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u/MRE_Milkshake ANSC '28 Jun 25 '26
I cant say Ive ever used one to be honest. I don't see the appeal in waiting for 45 minutes for food and then it be cold and probably half fallen apart when I could just go get it myself.
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u/Ok-Store-2788 Boilermaker Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
The appeal is when you canât just go and get it yourself. I always used it during a club that runs until after dining halls closed. Iâve rarely had problems with things being shaken up/broken apart, and Iâve never minded my food being kinda cold.
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u/MRE_Milkshake ANSC '28 Jun 26 '26
I guess it kinda depends on schedule too then. I'm pretty busy between my coursework, work, and club meetings, but I can't say I've had a time where I have been able to find time to get dinner before the dining halls close at some point.
I just have a problem with having to pay for a service on top of the food itself only for it to take long and end up being cold. At that point I would once again rather walk to wherever to get food.
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u/Ok-Store-2788 Boilermaker Jun 26 '26
Makes sense. I always did dining dollar locations and ordered ahead so itâd arrive around when I wanted to eat, so I didnât mind the fees.
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u/paint_smudged Jun 28 '26
I attend BGSU, I thought the same thing until I was diagnosed with chronic migraine and it got super cold and we were hit with ice storms. That's when I saw the appeal
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u/MRE_Milkshake ANSC '28 Jun 28 '26
Well, this is a scenario where they would come in good use. For me, I do not much reason to utilize them.
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u/GapStock9843 Jun 25 '26
Just wait theyâll be replaced with some other companyâs robots within a year or so
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u/invinciblewalnut Biomedicine â21 Jun 25 '26
Crying, screaming, throwing up
https://giphy.com/gifs/2WxWfiavndgcM
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u/JellyJohn78 Jun 25 '26
I remember watching a little baby running after one of the starships once on campus. Still not sure why the baby was there, I couldn't see it's parents
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u/jediworkshop Jun 26 '26
Iâll miss seeing those little guys when I visit campus. They felt very âPurdueâ to me.
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u/greencat26 Jun 26 '26
Gonna miss watching those guys try 37 times to cross the street
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u/BamboozleMeToHeck EE 2015 Jun 26 '26
The Halloween after Starship came to campus, a small group of students dressed up as the robots and sat at various stoplights for long periods of time. Still one of the funniest things I've seen on campus
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u/MixerBlaze Robotics Engineering Technology '28 Jun 26 '26
"can you press the crosswalk button for me please!?"
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u/Own_Collection6102 Jun 30 '26
Does anyone where these robots will go finally or will they be recycled? If they are being recycled I would love to tinker around with one of them and see what can be done of it.
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u/MixerBlaze Robotics Engineering Technology '28 Jun 30 '26
they're being repurposed for use in other places, college campuses were their testing grounds
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u/soupster82 Jun 25 '26
I honestly can't believe it was ever profitable on campus. The sticker shock the first time I went to use it made me delete the app and settle for a vending machine instead.