DHL Express launches fully-automated services with EHang Falcon smart drone

May 20, 2019: DHL Express launched its regular fully-automated and intelligent urban drone delivery service with the EHang Falcon smart drone. The drone delivery solution aims to overcome challenges like traffic congestion, complex road conditions and tackle the last-mile delivery challenges in the urban areas of China.

According to a press release, it reduces one-way delivery time from 40 minutes to only eight minutes and can save costs of up to 80 percent per delivery, with reduced energy consumption and carbon footprint compared with road transportation.

The EHang Falcon smart drone, with eight propellers on four arms, is meant with multiple redundant systems for full backup, and sensible and secure control modules. Its options embody vertical take-off and landing, high accuracy GPS and visual identification, sensible flight path designing, fully-automated flight and time period network association and programming.

The drones will carry up to 5kg of load per flight, initiate and land atop intelligent cupboards that were specifically developed for the totally autonomous loading and offloading of the shipment.

"This is an exciting time for the logistics sector, with continued growth of the Chinese economy and cross-border trade, particularly in South China and the Greater Bay Area, which is home to an increasing number of SMEs and startups. This means there's an incredible volume of logistics needs, that successively creates new opportunities for implementing innovative solutions which will endlessly drive growth with larger efficiency, property and less cost," said Wu Dongming, CEO, DHL Express China.