This little PepsiCo snack robot is a vending machine on wheels
The Hello Goodness-branded robot rolls around with chips and iced tea, but no beer.
PepsiCo's Hello Goodness-branded snackbots look like food coolers on wheels.
A fleet of snack-filled robots are now delivering quick bites to students at one California university.
PepsiCo's Hello Goodness-branded snackbots, which look like food coolers on wheels, started operation Thursday at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. The robots can be summoned with an iOS app to any of 50 spots across the college's 175-acre campus, allowing students to pick up snacks like chips and iced tea.
Scott Finlow, PepsiCo VP of Innovation and Insights, said beer or other alcohol isn't currently planned for the snackbots, which are now stocked with healthier snacks like baked potato chips, tea and Starbucks Cold Brew.
The robots can travel 20 miles (32 kilometers) on a single charge, and include a camera with headlights for seeing pathways and all-wheel drive capabilities for steep hills. Students are able to pay for their food using either Apple Pay or a credit card payment through the phone app. They are roughly the size of a cooler, coming in at 21.5 inches high, 28.57 inches long and 30.59 inches high.
The snackbots themselves do business on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and will hit the brakes on business in the evening.
First published Jan. 4, 2018, 9:30 a.m. PT.
Update, 12:12 p.m. PT: Adds comment from PepsiCo and other details about the snackbots.