While remote aerial package deliveries in the United States continue to face significant obstacles due to regulatory barriers and weak consumer demand, drone deliveries in China are quite literally “taking off.”  Some observers believe that’s likely due to Beijing’s looser regulatory requirements, especially on drone deliveries in heavily populated areas.  But the real reason may be how these deliveries are actually carried out.

China, like the US, is concerned about drone safety and liability issues.  But unlike the US, the country has addressed those issues forthrightly by requiring drone deliveries to be made along pre-programmed flight routes to neighborhood or community kiosks, not to individual homes and offices.  The deliveries require recipients to travel a short distance to a kiosk (about the size of a large vending machine) where their food item is already waiting, which reduces somewhat the convenience of the service.

But it also reduces the risk of injury. With a limited number of pre-programmed routes, the drones, even in crowded cities, are being sent along flight paths that minimize the risk of interaction with vehicles and humans.  In fact, most kiosks are located on office building rooftops, away from ground traffic altogether. The drone alights briefly at the kiosk, then flies away before the food customer even arrives.

China’s kiosk-based deliveries have another huge advantage:  Multiple customers receive their food at the same kiosk and many of them are regulars, ordering the same items almost daily.  Chinese drone companies can plan weekly kiosk delivery schedules in advance, lowering their costs and increasing the efficiency and scalability of the entire operation.

China’s drone delivery service isn’t exactly new.  Meituan, the country’s leading aerial food delivery service, has made thousands of deliveries since it commenced operations in mid-sized Chinese cities 18 months ago.  When a foreign journalist decided to test China’s drone delivery model recently, by placing an order for iced tea for delivery to a kiosk in Shenzhen, a city of 12 million people, he found it impressively well-organized. The journalist ordered his tea for delivery at 12;30 and it was delivered on time – indeed, at that precise moment,  The only hitch came when he tried to order another food item in the late evening, not knowing that Meituan only delivers nightly until 7 p.m.

Unlike US drone com;panies, Meitusn also has the advantage of a highly cooperative civil aviation authority, which is allowing some drones to fly freely in urban areas.  It also helps that Meituan and other companies already have a proven safety record from their deliveries in past years in rural areas. And the company has introduced some important safety design elements, like the use of special wings that help stabilize drone flights under windy conditions, minimizing the risk of crashes and collisions.

Meituan says it’s planning to expand its operations to an even larger city like Shanghai, but first wants to consolidate its expanding base in Shenzhen, its current hub.  Eventually the company al;so plans to automate the food loading process, which is currently conducted by field staff that must climb up and down stairs repeatedly to load the drones for delivery.  Another target for automation might be battery-recharging, which is also highly repetitive and exposes workers to potential workplace injury.

“Our ground crew may have to bend over a hundred times a day to load the package and change the batteries,” says Mao Yinian, Meituan’s director of drone delivery services. “Human bodies are not designed for such movements.”

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