*By Carlo Versano* College students too hungover to peel themselves out of bed and go to D-Hall will have a new on-demand option for quick, healthy snacks. PepsiCo ($PEP) is spearheading an autonomous food delivery service on the campus of the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., where students can now order snacks via an app that are then delivered to them via a small robotic vehicle. The "snackbot" is a "first-of-its-kind" experiment in self-driving and robotics technology, Scott Finlow, vice president of innovation and insights at PepsiCo, told Cheddar. The "Labrador-sized" robotic delivery vehicles are designed and built by Robby Technologies, and stocked with goods curated by Pepsi's Hello Goodness vending brand, such as Sun Chips, Pure Leaf teas, Starbucks Cold Brew and Bubly sparkling water. Students can download the app from Apple's App Store, choose items from an in-app menu, select their location from one of 50 delivery spots on campus, and then wait for the wheeled robots to show up with their snacks. Sensors record what's taken, and the transaction is logged when the lid closes (think of the latest in minibar technology, married with a self-driving car, if that car was a cooler on wheels). Finlow said the technology could expand to more campuses, though he wouldn't mention any by name. "Certainly we think it's a scalable idea," he said. He said the venture sprung from a belief that today's college students are looking for healthier and more convenient snack options, and that the pilot program with the University of the Pacific will help Pepsi develop data that it can use to build out a network of snackbots. "We've got a lot to learn on this campus," Finlow said.

Share:
More In Business
Apple Overtakes Samsung as Top Seller of Smartphones
Dan Ives, Managing Director and Senior Equity Analyst at Wedbush Securities dives deeper into a report by the International Data Corporation (IDC) that Apple has ended Samsung's 12-year reign as the world's largest smartphone seller.
AI is the Big Opportunity and the Risk to Watch at Davos
Artificial intelligence is the biggest buzzword at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. Advances in generative AI stunned the world last year, and the elite crowd is angling to take advantage of its promise and minimize its risks.
A Smarter Smart Phone?
Smartphones could get much smarter this year as the next wave of artificial intelligence seeps into the devices that accompany people almost everywhere they go.
Who Could Be The World's First Trillionaire?
In an annual assessment of global inequalities, Oxfam International said the first trillionaire could emerge within the next decade — as the anti-poverty organization pointed to the growing wealth gap that skyrocketed globally during the pandemic.
Load More