Ele.me, one of China’s leading online food delivery platforms, has been given the green light by authorities to operate in the country’s initial delivery routes for drones.
The 17 newly approved routes over an industrial zone in Shanghai will enable consumers there to receive online takeaway meal orders via drones within 20 minutes after confirming the delivery on their smartphones, according to Ele.me during an event in Shanghai on Tuesday.
Deliveries in the Shanghai Jinshan Industrial Park, which covers an area of about 58 square kilometres (22.4 square miles), are expected to benefit more than 100 food merchants doing business there, the company said.
Under the rules drawn up for this programme in Shanghai, drones will transport meals to and from two fixed locations within each route.
Delivery personnel at each starting point are responsible for gathering all takeaway orders and placing those inside the cargo hold of each drone. Personnel at the delivery points will distribute the meals carried by each drone directly to the specified addresses of customers.