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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 11 S E P T E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 2 3 Campus take-out options now come with a robotic twist Following a trend in higher ed, a growing number of universities in Maine are adopting Kiwibots — semiautonomous robots that deliver meals ordered on an app. A year ago, the University of Southern Maine became the first school in Maine to deploy the Kiwibots — 10 on its Gorham campus and five along the grounds in Portland. Southern Maine Community College followed in January. Now UMaine students, faculty and staff can expect to see the bots at the Orono campus. UMaine Dining is launching 15 food deliv- ery Kiwibots in order to meet the student demand for food delivery services. e Kiwibots will navigate the campus using a camera and GPS system to deliver food ordered through UMaine Dining's Everyday app. UMaine users can sign up for Kiwibot subscription plans that cover a certain number of deliveries and include other perks like free birthday rewards, in-app discounts, waived delivery fees and loyalty points. Individual orders without a subscrip- tion will also be available. N O T E W O R T H Y N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N The University of Maine will use a $3 million National Science Foundation grant to create a graduate training program focused on the world's chang- ing oceans. It will support at least 45 students in the fields of marine ecol- ogy, oceanography, genomics, compu- tational and social sciences. Reach out to see how we may be able to assist in your next project! 0 TH C E L E B R A T I N G 4 0 Y E A R S ARCHITECTURE | INTERIOR DESIGN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE | MASTER PLANNING LISTEN. INNOVATE. DESIGN. www.GawronTurgeon.com MOUSAM RIVER DENTISTRY | KENNEBUNK, ME Help People Heal. Make a Real Difference. Lead Change. HUSSON IS HOW 1 COLLEGE CIRCLE | BANGOR, MAINE | 207.941.7000 | husson.edu 125 Y E A R S 1898 – 2023 P O L I T I C S & C O. Portland sees 'surge' in use of on-street EV chargers B y W i l l i a m H a l l T he city of Portland's recently installed elec- tric vehicle chargers have seen usage dou- ble in the past six months. In August, more than 700 EVs took advan- tage of city-owned Chargepoint chargers, double the roughly 350 charging sessions recorded in February, according to a staff memo from the Portland Sustainability Office. The number of charges has increased each month this year, with drivers bolstering their batteries at the public stations 4,000 times since Jan. 1. The city has installed dozens of chargers over the past two years but has said more are needed, especially because of the many residents who rent apartments and may not be close to a charging station. Portland contracts with Chargepoint and another national operator of charging stations, EVgo, to provide a mix of electric vehicle hook-ups. They consist mostly of level 2 chargers, as well as some DC fast chargers and a few level 1 chargers. Last year, the city contracted with EVgo to install eight DC fast-charging stalls and up to 44 level 2 chargers. "We continue to explore locations for the second bank of EVgo fast chargers. After great effort to place them on Marginal Way near Miss Portland Diner, we have abandoned that location due to an inability to bring the necessary amount of electricity to the site," the memo said. "We are now exploring the possibility of incorporating the fast chargers into the design of Portland Harbor Commons, the new park that will be built at the end of India Street in place of the existing surface parking." Users include EV- driving apartment dwellers who may not be close to a charging station. N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N

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