Meituan drone delivery may be first to take flight in HK

June Chen

Food delivery platform Meituan plans to apply for the low-altitude economy regulatory sandbox in the city in a bid to pioneer drone delivery service in Hong Kong.

In a Mars Talk event jointly held by the Meituan Academy of Robotics Shenzhen, or MARS, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Meituan vice president Mao Yinian said the SAR has complex terrains such as mountains and the sea, so using traditional ways for delivery such as motorcycles and walking are time-consuming and inefficient, but drones can solve this issue.

Mao introduced the low-altitude logistic scheme Meituan developed independently, which includes intelligent drones, automatic airports for drones and smart drone dispatching systems.

He emphasized that self-developed unmanned aerial vehicles have good adaptability and can smoothly operate in complex environments such as moderate rain and snow.

In addition to the satellite navigation system, the drones are also equipped with a self-developed visual navigation system, which can ensure safe and efficient flight even in high-density buildings with poor signal conditions, which is suitable for a city like Hong Kong.

The company has opened more than 40 air routes in cities like Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Nanjing since it launched drone delivery services in January 2021. Around 400,000 orders have been delivered by drones in four years.

In other news, the National Air Traffic Control Commission plans to launch electric vertical take-off and landing or eVTOL trials in six pilot cities - Hefei, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu and Chongqing.

The central pilot document offered relevant plans for air routes and regions, and the administration privileges of low-altitude airspace below 600 meters were granted to some local governments, so local authorities have more management responsibilities.