JD.com Makes Drone Deliveries In China As Covid-19 Virus Paralyzes Country
Chinese Internet company JD.Com Inc (NASDAQ: JD) is using drones to deliver goods to customers in China at a time when the country is virtually shut down to prevent further spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.
Apart from mobilizing resources to provide immediate support for anti-virus fight, the company is launching robot and drone deliveries using its AI technology to facilitate last-mile delivery, JD.com said in a release.
The company's first delivery was in a village near Baiyang Lake in Hebei province on Friday, the Nikkei said in a report.
The drone carried goods for about 2 kilometers over a lake to the Liuzhuang village, carrying essential commodities.
JD.com previously used self-driving vehicles to deliver a batch of goods to a hospital in the Wuhan province, the Nikkei said.
Even ahead of the virus outbreak, JD.com used drones to deliver New Year gifts to rural areas, Xinhua reported.
The company also carried out government-approved drone delivery to Indonesia earlier this year.
The stock was trading 2.1% higher at $41.64 at the time of publication Wednesday.
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Photo courtesy of JD.com
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