China’s top food delivery service has launched drones for faster and more efficient delivery in Shenzhen.
Citizens are going wild!
The news was shared by travel vloggers Adriana and Dylan on their TikTok page where they tried out the drone delivery for themselves.
“We just got a drone delivery here in Shenzhen, China. We didn’t even know this was a thing till we arrived in Shenzhen. The future is here. Would you use this?”
Drone Delivery in Action
In the video Adriana and Dylan place an order for a coffee at one of the company’s delivery booths.
After 8 minutes they wait and then the drone is seen flying above the Shenzhen skyscrapers and landing at the drop off point.
The delivery didn’t land at their doorstep but the video shows the drone delivering to a nearby kiosk – part of the system to make drone delivery work in a dense urban environment.
How it Works
According to a 2023 article from MIT Technology Review Meituan, the food delivery giant, has created a drone delivery system that works through kiosks.
Instead of delivering to a customer’s doorstep, drones drop off packages at these kiosks which are usually located near residential or office buildings.
This may not be as convenient for customers but it allows the drones to follow pre-set routes from specific launchpads to the kiosks and avoid the complexities of flying through cityscapes.
“To make the service work in a dense city Meituan doesn’t deliver to doorsteps. Instead the company sets up pickup kiosks near residential or office buildings where drones drop off the deliveries. This way drones can avoid obstacles and navigate urban areas more easily,” the statement says.
Drone Delivery Highlights
Meituan’s drone delivery has been a huge success with over 100,000 drone deliveries in Shenzhen as of 2022. Despite some initial teething issues (restaurant distance and limited hours – the drones stop flying at 7pm) the tech has proven itself for urban food delivery.
The vloggers’ video and personal account has added to the buzz around this service showing how technology is changing everyday life in China.
Summary
Drone food delivery in Shenzhen is the future of logistics in urban areas. As the tech evolves we’ll see more cities adopting similar systems and deliveries will get faster and more efficient.
For now Meituan’s experiment in Shenzhen is giving us a sneak peek into how drones will soon be a part of food delivery services everywhere.
:
The most popular food delivery company in China has adopted drone technology for efficient food delivery in the Shenzhen area of China.
This development has sparked excitement among Chinese citizens.
This was… pic.twitter.com/vwoFTekNpa
— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) October 9, 2024
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