WEDZ company aids drone delivery

A drone developed by Hubei Micromulticopter (MMC) Aviation Technology Co Hubei in the Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone is used for rural delivery. [Photo/WeChat account: whkfq] 

Liu Jianying, a postal courier, has long struggled with the "last kilometer" of rural delivery, often spending over 40 minutes navigating steep slopes and canals by motorcycle. 

However, her job has recently become much easier thanks to a new helper. A drone developed by Hubei Micromulticopter (MMC) Aviation Technology Co Hubei in the Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone (WEDZ) has taken on the role of an "airborne courier”. 

As the city's first rural drone delivery route, the drone delivers packages in just 15 minutes from the town center to the entrance of Lizhen village in Xinzhou district, Wuhan.

The route is currently undergoing validation flights. Tests are expected to be completed by the end of November, and regular operations will commence in early December. 

A representative of MMC noted that drone delivery, unaffected by traffic congestion and traffic lights, reduces transportation time by nearly 70 percent, truly achieving "air delivery" and opening a new channel for the last kilometer of rural logistics. 

The "airborne courier" in service is the RuYunLong II-P, a heavy-duty hexacopter drone capable of carrying 300 to 500 packages with a one-hour flight endurance. Zhang Cheng, a representative from MMC, noted that their drones boast long endurance and fast data transmission, ensuring flight safety. These features allow the drones to operate normally in extremely cold and complex terrains, making them highly advantageous for rural deliveries. 

MMC is China's first national high-tech enterprise to integrate the entire industrial chain of drone development, production, sales, and service. It focuses on five business segments: low-altitude planning and construction, research and development, manufacturing, industry applications, education and training, and operational capabilities. This makes it a major contributor to the development of the low-altitude economy in WEDZ. 

According to Zhang, MMC will increase investment to develop more application scenarios in the low-altitude economy sector, accelerating the development of new, high-quality productive forces in WEDZ.