China Ecommerce Companies Deploy Delivery Robots Amid Virus Outbreak

Delivery app Meituan Dianping has started to deploy robots in the Shunyi district of Beijing. “This project is to minimise the risk of potential infections caused by human contact and meet the needs of customers in this special time,” said Meituan in a statement. The autonomous delivery robot vehicle can carry up to 100 kilograms of goods and deliver three to five orders on each trip. Other platforms have also announced the deployment of robots for more deliveries; Beijing-based JD.com announced that it was delivering medical supplies to Ninth Hospital and groceries to local communities via autonomous vehicles in the city of Wuhan which has been in lockdown. JD autonomous delivery robots help to reduce human-to-human contact making them an ideal solution for last-mile delivery solutions. There are said to be 10 to 20 orders from Wuhan Ninth Hospital every day, and 50-70% of them are delivered by autonomous vehicles.