E-Commerce Giant Jingdong Debuts Delivery Robots in Beijing

Last Sunday, Jingdong (JD.com), one of China’s largest e-commerce providers, released more than 20 autonomous delivery vehicles onto the streets of Beijing’s Haidian district, as reported by China Daily. 

After successfully piloting deliveries on the campus of Renmin University in Beijing last year, the company decided to put the robots into serial production. 

The autonomous vehicles navigate via 360-degree environmental monitoring supported by radar and sensors which allow them to avoid passing pedestrians, road barriers and vehicles. They’re even able to adhere to traffic lights and react corresponsive to them. The biggest of the robots can pack a whopping load of up to 30 packages and reaches a top speed of 15 kilometers (9 miles) per hour. 

Once the vehicle has reached its destination, customers will receive an instant message to pick up their delivery. They can do so by facial recognition, passwords or simply via JD.com’s app.

Jingdong plans to introduce their convenient technology to other cities across China in the future.

[Picture via China Daily]