REGIONAL –A futuristic shopping cart appeared to be on the loose in the parking lot at Zup’s Market in Ely during a recent windy Friday afternoon. Drawing gawks and finger-pointing, even a loud “look out!” warning from one shopper, the contraption scooted around cars and people with a load of groceries.
It stopped behind a white minivan. The driver got out of her car, flipped open the lids and loaded her groceries into her vehicle. She waved and yelled ‘Thank you” toward a couple of high school kids standing near the store entrance.
That cart is actually a robot made by a group of robotics students at Northeast Range School in Babbitt who are taking contact-free shopping to the next level.
NER students and “Iron Mosquitos” robotics team members Zoey Cameron, Isaac Hendrickson and Oskar Koivisto, along with their advisor Ryan Lindsay, were fresh off the school robotics competition circuit earlier this year when distance-learning protocols kicked in because of the coronavirus.
“Before school closed and we all went home to shelter in place, these students were brainstorming on what they could do to help their community,” Lindsay said. “One of their top inventions was a robot that shoots t-shirts into the crowd at our annual Fourth of July parade. When the pandemic rolled in, they gave it a more serious role.”
They literally put the project together on the last day of classes at school.
“At first, it was kind of a joke, but four hours later they put together a ‘grocery bot’ and they have had some real success with it,” Lindsey said.
Shoppers call or make an online appointment with the team and provide their shopping list. When shoppers pull up to the store, the kids go shopping. They wear masks and sanitized gloves, fill the robot’s boxes, pay for the order with the customer’s check or credit card, and drive the robot out to the cars for delivery. The students re-sanitize the grocery boxes and their gloves with every new order.
Ely Memorial School robotics students Raif Olson and Caleb Kappes-Bliss recently operated the grocery bot at Zup’s Market.
“Our robot is basically broken after competition and the Babbitt team offered their back-up bot for this project,” Olson said. “It has been lots of fun and gets us out of the house.”
Lindsey added that the community has been very supportive.
“Rather than sitting at home playing video games, these students are spending the days getting this set up and putting ads in the paper. It’s fun to see,” he said. “It is great to see kids step up. Everyone loves to see the best in the future, and maybe this makes you have faith that, hey, we’re going to be alright.”
The service is free. Members of the team will be driving their Social Distancing Grocery Bot to deliver groceries in the Babbitt, Ely, and Tower Zup’s parking lots. The schedule (subject to change): Babbitt deliveries on Tuesday, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.; Tower deliveries on Wednesdays, 8 a.m.-1 p.m; and Ely deliveries, Fridays, from 3-7 p.m.

Call 218-504-9280 to place a grocery order or send an order online through the Google form link that can be found on the Northeast Range Nighthawks Facebook page.

Grocery Bot Process:
1. Call in order or fill out online (https://forms.gle/cpfjQt7VwNgJrGRg9). If online, call when you get to Zup’s or are on the way.
2. Park by sidewalk by the door by the sign for grocery bot delivery. The robot will drive near your vehicle. Stay in the vehicle until it stops.
3. Place a credit card in the robot bin.
4. Get back in the vehicle. The robot will then return to the store.
5. Wait for students to get groceries and ring up the sale in the store. It may take some time. Text the number if you have questions.
6. Once the robot drives near a vehicle and stops, get out of the vehicle and get groceries, credit card, and receipt. Wave to team members in the entryway, drive home and stay healthy.