The University of South Carolina Columbia made the innovative decision to incorporate Grubhub delivery robots into campus delivery services in 2024. These robots—which many students refer to as “Grubbies”—wander the streets of campus every day, delivering student orders placed through the Grubhub app. Many students love these robots for their cute expressions and helpless struggles to climb curbs or navigate the city streets. Unfortunately, these adorable robots do not have the best reputation when it comes to their intended purpose of food delivery.
What is a “grubby”?
The robots are the product of a partnership between Grubhub and Starship technologies. According to the University of South Carolina, they operate on elements of sophisticated machine learning and artificial intelligence. They use sensors to map out their surroundings, and a team of humans monitor their progress.
Rob DelaCruz, vice president and general manager of Grubhub’s campus business, quoted: “This type of delivery is a perfect fit for campus environments to provide scalable and cost-effective food delivery solutions to students.”
The university has been expanding its activity with Grubhub since their initial partnership in 2018. Now, the university partakes in Grubhub Ultimate, which includes self-ordering via kiosks, food lockers, and delivery robots. Grubhub has a chokehold on UofSC, as there were 4.041 million Grubhub orders placed at UofSC during the 2025-2026 academic year.
Junior Robot Technician Gabriel Powers stated, “In any given day, we’ll have over 17,000 transactions,” attributing some of those orders to delivery robots.
student perspectives
Students have mixed reviews on the Grubbies. Many report waiting forever for their food and some claim the robot brought their food to the wrong location, sending them on a goose chase for their order. Although they can be problematic, the cuteness of the Grubbies brings many students joy throughout the school week.
A societal concern regarding robots such as Grubbies is the fear that such technologies are taking away jobs from people. UofSC Marketing Director Faren Alston argued the robots are more efficient than in-person delivery because of complications delivery workers have with navigating campus and the struggle to find parking. However, it is difficult to make the case that Grubbies are “more efficient” than humans, as students each day wait hours for their delivery robot to arrive. In UofSC’s case, these delivery robots did not take away any jobs, as the university was not able to offer delivery services prior to their introduction.
Fun Facts About Grubbies!
- They are zero-emission, meaning they are environmentally friendly!
- Currently, there are 20 delivery robots on UofSC’s campus, with a plan to add 40 more.
- They contain temperature control to keep your order hot or cold if needed.
- Each night, the Grubbies return to a warehouse to charge.
- They serve 68 campus locations.
Final thoughts
It is difficult to tell if the Grubbies were a good decision for the University of South Carolina. They seldom meet the expectations of their intended purpose: creating an efficient and easy way for students to order food. Nonetheless, they have the unintended side effect of brightening students’ days. As universities worldwide adopt similar technologies and the University of South Carolina continues to advance in their partnership with Grubhub, it is important to keep in mind the positives and negatives of choosing a Grubby over a human delivery service.