More than a thousand robots are set to join the delivery services of Chinese tech giants Alibaba, Meituan and JD.com over the next year, as the continuing COVID-19 pandemic fuels demand for contactless services and the cost of making robots drops.
More than a thousand robots are set to join the delivery services of Chinese tech giants Alibaba, Meituan and JD.com over the next year as the continuing COVID-19 pandemic fuels demand for contactless services.Labour force shortages and restrictions have also driven demandThe companies expect to operate more than 2,000 robots between them by 2022, up about four-fold from now, their executives said.
The food-delivery giant launched its robot service in February 2020, when infections were high in Beijing, earlier than a planned end-year launch.JD.com, too, brought forward its plans to launch its robot service, according to the e-commerce giant's chief scientist is its autonomous driving unit, Kong Qi.
Also, robots are only allowed on certain routes, such as in housing estates and school campuses, because of speed limits and road conditions.
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