German-based international delivery service DHL has announced that it has now started a regular drone delivery service in China.
The company partnered up with drone company EHang to make this happen. EHang supplied DHL with Falcon drones, which measure 3 feet across, weigh 21 pounds, can fly at over 40mph and can carry loads of up to 12 pounds.
The drones pick up their cargo via ‘smart cabinets’ that are loaded up by DHL workers with the parcels that need to be delivered.
The drones are equipped with GPS and optical sensors that help them reach their destination and come with eight rotors that will keep them flying even if some of them encounter problems on the way and stop working.
The packages are dropped off to a second ‘smart cabinet’ that the customer will have to visit to pick up their delivery, which will be verified via a code and facial recognition.
According to EHang, the drones can fly for around 18 minutes when carrying a load and for 38 when empty. They will also cut down on delivery times from 40 minutes to only 8.
In addition to speedier delivery times, the drone deliveries also cut the costs down by 80% and, of course, the carbon footprint of the company will see a considerable decrease as well.
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