At the ongoing 2021 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, food delivery behemoth Meituan displayed a self-developed drone and announced that it will build China’s first Urban Low-altitude Logistics Demonstration Center.

According to Wang Puzhong, senior vice president of Meituan, the urban low-altitude logistics network will provide important opportunities for technological innovation in the next two decades. The combination of drones and modern lifestyles is the best path to build a low-altitude logistics network.

Meituan began to explore drone delivery scenarios in 2017 and has been committed to building a low-altitude logistics network with a range of 3 kilometers and a delivery time of no more than 15 minutes. It has now completed the R&D of autonomous flying drones, automated airports, and a drone scheduling system. More than 90% of the core system components are independently developed by Meituan.

A cooperation signing ceremony for the founding of the Urban Low-altitude Logistics Demonstration Center was held between Meituan and Shanghai’s Jinshan district government. Via the resource from the Shanghai East China UAV Base in Jinshan, Meituan aims to create a 15-minute delivery circle in Shanghai and jointly create the unmanned aviation industry standard.

Meituan’s drone was put into service early this year in Shenzhen to deliver the first real life order and later distributed emergency supplies to residents in the pandemic-hit and locked areas.