As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase in Shanghai, Fudan University has introduced Meituan autonomous vehicles to provide non-contact delivery services for teachers and students on campus. At present, the delivery orders of each meal at Fudan University have reached nearly 2,000, and each autonomous vehicle can handle the delivery of over 200 orders.
Volunteers will put the meal box into the autonomous vehicle at the entrance of the canteen. The vehicle will drive to each dormitory for distribution according to the pre-set route in advance.
Why it matters
Meituan’s autonomous delivery vehicles in Shanghai have been applied to three different scenarios: communities, hospitals and universities, with cumulative delivery orders exceeding 10,000. Meituan said that unmanned delivery will form a synergy with riders to improve the delivery service’s efficiency, creating a better experience for users.
Context
Meituan’s new generation of self-developed autonomous vehicle has been upgraded in many aspects based on the previous generation, with a loading capacity of 150kg, a volume of nearly 540L and a delivery speed of 20km/h.
After 5 years of testing and operation, the project has passed 31 tests including vehicle performance, durability and extreme environments. It can adapt to the 24-hour operation demand, detect obstacles 150 meters away and automatically slow down. Additionally, its driving range on urban roads reaches 80km.
