China Finds Good Domestic Use for Robotic Drones, They Can Deliver Parcels Where Trucks Can’t Reach

Where trucks and delivery vans can't reach, robotic drones may be the solution. In China, a parcel express courier has started finding good domestic use for robotic drones. It uses them to deliver and drop packages to target recipients, especially in hard-to-reach far flung areas in the country.

Photos showing a drone delivering a parcel in Dongguang city located in the southern province of Guangdong in the country's southeast have gone viral in Sina Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter.

Operated by the delivery service SF Express, the drones are eight-rotor helicopters, or octocoptors. The company's logo was plastered on the side of the drone. However, it said the service is still in the trial stages, thus not yet applicable nationwide.

With a population of eight million, it is believed the Dongguan metro area is a very ideal site to market the idea of robotic drones as parcel delivery instruments. Since they travel by air, robotic drones will not encounter vehicular nor human congestion on land and will be able to deliver parcels in a speed of lightning to its target recipient.

The octocoptor utilised by Parcel service SF Express can fly high in the air at 330 feet, equivalent to a 33-story building, carry a parcel load that weighs up 7 pounds and then drop its package within two metres of customers.

It has a built-in navigation system of which the data are input by SF Express from its Shenzhen warehouse office.

It won't be a surprise if China ultimately allows nationwide parcel delivery through robotic drones in light of its massive problem in managing its traffic and air pollution.