Campus | Photo by Arden Reimer | The Wright State Guardian
A combination of excellent terrain, low crime and delivery demand makes WSU the perfect environment to utilize delivery robots, such as the ones that roam the campus of The University of Bowling Green.
Environment
Delivery robots are best in a flat and contained campus, which is exactly what Wright State University is. While the university has a wide range of 557 acres, most of the central campus is contained within a few miles.
Dormitories and apartments are easily accessible from the central campus. Robots most likely would easily be able to traverse the Honors bridge and conquer the low slopes leading to other residential communities and apartments.
WSU is already known for accessibility, ranked third in the US for wheelchair accessibility with 100% wheelchair access.
But the concept of university delivery robots is not a fever dream. The flat terrain of WSU is similar to that of The University of Bowling Green, the first university in Ohio to utilize autonomous delivery robots.
The robots are a hit among students.
Popular demand
But would WSU communities have the demand for campus delivery options? The answer is yes. Take into consideration the grilled cheese hotline, a wild delivery success to residence communities that raised over $1,000 for charity in one night.
While this demonstrates the demand in the WSU community for delivery, university students have always had a thirst for delivery apps such as Doordash, Grubhub, Postmates and UberEats.
According to GoKnit.com, “The study showed that 54% of customers ages 18 to 34 are monthly active users of at least one of these apps.”
But if the desire is to keep delivery within a closed system at WSU, that is also an option. On Grubhub, WSU already offers delivery of “Burger Barn” and “Asada” in Allyn Hall. Therefore, if WSU did not want to continue utilizing third parties, the delivery robots would be a perfect fit for a closed system.
Low crime
The closed system and cohesive terrain mean nothing if the robots are vulnerable to crime. No one wants a repeat of the hitchhiking robot that was destroyed in Philadelphia.
However, looking at WSU and Dayton crime rates, this seems highly unlikely to happen.
Looking at the 2019 crime rates of WSU and area college the University of Cincinnati (UC), the difference is stark. In 2019, there were 5.75 incidents of crime per 1,000 students at WSU. At UC, there were 17.62 per 1,000 students.
And even if there is continued concern about damage to the robots, a test with just a few robots may be a good way to experiment with the robot venture.
Overall, WSU should consider food delivery robots like the ones at The University of Bowling Green. It would truly add another factor of uniqueness to campus, just like the one-of-a-kind tunnel system.
