W e are not alone.

Here comes Barnacle, Techno and Scrumptious…and they come in peace.

They’re part of a fleet of 10—the cutest little robots you’ve ever seen, brought to Georgia College & State University by its dining company, Sodexo.

They deliver pizza to hungry students—5 p.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday on West Campus.

And the media blitz it created? That’s just the pepperoni on top.

The little boxes on wheels attracted attention from all three TV news stations in Macon, the Baldwin Bulletin and Baldwin 2K. Prior to the rollout last week of the new delivery technology, WGXA News wrote “Robots to invade GCSU, and they’re bringing pizza.” A reporter for 41NBC, Dejon Campbell, was all smiles chasing after the “A.I. powered robots” to film them.

The headline at 13WMAZ was “It’s not a bird or a plane, it’s a pizza robot. Here are the new robots roaming Georgia College.” Anchors Lori Johnson and Frank Malloy said, “Pizza and college students go together like midterms and all-night study sessions. Sodexo and the university have brought a new technology to campus that makes getting pizza a little more convenient.”

And, well, the students are eating it up. The perky delivery bots are winning both hearts and stomachs.

They’re the size of a pet—on wheels. The robots maneuver sidewalks, back up and turn around. Their front screens show blue blinking eyes, white stars and red hearts. They wink at you and have multiple sounds. They bleep, whistle and squeal with mechanical delight.

And, if you’re missing your cat, they even purr.

Students use the Everyday APP on their phones to order pizza or snacks and drinks from a convenience store near Pizza Hut. An electrical engineer, employed by Sodexo, works behind the scenes to ensure bots are working correctly, turning corners and bypassing obstacles. Orders are placed inside the bots, which are then loaded, locked and ready to roll.

They enter apartment buildings and bring orders straight to a student’s door. The lid then opens to reveal goodies inside.

One student told the media he was having a bunch of friends over this weekend but didn’t want to leave his room to get food. Another said he had already ordered, and the bot arrived quickly with the pizza still hot.

It’s all part of a bunch of new things students are seeing on campus, regarding food.

The MAX dining hall was renovated over the summer. It’s much brighter and offers new options like gluten-free and vegan meals. There’s also a new U Cook station, where students make their own omelets and quesadillas. President Cathy Cox will demonstrate at that station at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 1.

But the new ideas don’t stop there.

If pizza bots prove to be popular—the plan is to expand their use to Main Campus in January.

It’s an easy bet that’ll happen too, considering this week’s reaction.

Grace Horton, a senior creative writing and French double major, said, “They are adorable!” Senior psychology major Caiden Evans said, “Life is so much easier with Pizza Hut delivery on campus.”

So, with all the talk about artificial intelligence these days—we best get used to it.

Bots are among us.

Eat pizza and be at peace.