Yandex autonomous delivery robots will expand Grubhub’s delivery capabilities, including in campus areas only accessible by foot

Grubhub, the leading online and mobile food-ordering and delivery platform on college campuses, and Yandex Self-Driving Group (SDG), a leading autonomous vehicles developer inside Yandex, one of Europe’s largest internet companies, announced today a multi-year partnership where Yandex will be Grubhub’s robot delivery provider. Grubhub will now provide campus partners the ability to deploy Yandex robots on-site for faster, more cost-effective deliveries to complement its existing capabilities tailored for colleges and universities.

Marking its break into the U.S. market, Yandex’s delivery robots use the company’s proprietary self-driving technologies, including autonomous navigation of pavements, pedestrian areas, and crosswalks, making it possible to reach areas on campus not accessible by cars. Such functionality enables the robots to handle delivery tasks without human guidance, providing efficient automation for last mile logistics scenarios.

“Together with Yandex, we’re changing the way college students experience food delivery,” said Brian Madigan, vice president of corporate and campus partners at Grubhub. “We’re excited to offer these cost-effective, scalable and quick food ordering and delivery capabilities to colleges and universities across the country that are looking to adapt to students’ unique dining needs. While college campuses are notoriously difficult for cars to navigate, specifically as it relates to food delivery, Yandex robots easily access parts of campuses that vehicles cannot — effectively removing a major hurdle universities face when implementing new technology.”

Grubhub partners with more than 250 college campuses across the United States to give students the ability to integrate meal plans directly into their Grubhub account and access restaurants both on- and off-campus for delivery and pickup. With the Yandex SDG partnership, universities can bring this technology to their campuses and disrupt the traditional status quo dining experience. Grubhub campus dining also offers contact-free delivery, and students enrolled in campus dining at participating campuses are able to claim a free Grubhub + membership.

“We chose to partner with Grubhub for campus delivery because of Grubhub’s unparalleled reach into college campuses across the United States, as well as the flexibility and strength of their ordering platform,” said Dmitry Polishchuk, CEO of Yandex Self-Driving Group. “We are delighted to deploy dozens of our rovers, taking the next step in actively commercializing our self-driving technology in different markets across the globe.”

Yandex robots, called rovers, are able to perform last-mile deliveries on pre-mapped areas; operate during daylight, night, average snow and rain; navigate autonomously between pick up and drop off points; and use regulated and unregulated crosswalks. As the delivery robot approaches its final destination, the diner receives a push notification with the status update, and when it arrives, they open the hatch of the rover via the Grubhub app. The diner then takes the food out of the opened rover, closes the hatch and lets it proceed to the next delivery.

“As we looked for a robot delivery partner, we recognized that we not only needed best-in-class technology, but the resources and scale to meet the unique demands of our campus clients,” said Sean Ir, director of strategic partnerships at Grubhub. “Yandex was the clear choice, and together we will serve colleges and universities across the country better than ever before.”

Grubhub and Yandex’s partnership will be available to universities for the Fall semester. For more information on Grubhub campus dining, please click here.