Robot delivery a reality for the future

The future will be an era of robot deliveries and it will be unnecessary for couriers to work no matter rain or shine, according to Richard Liu, founder and CEO of JD.com Group.

JD.com and Lenovo on July 20 announced a big data strategic collaboration, but did not disclose any details at the Lenovo Global Science and Technology Innovation Conference.

However, Liu welcomed the prospect of robot and drone deliveries, and said JD.com would fully develop its technology, with the first unmanned warehouse to be operational before next year’s “Double 11”, referring to the shopping holiday equivalent to Black Friday in the US.

“Sales of JD.com will grow by at least ten times in the next 12 years, but the number of employees is expected to remain unchanged,” said Liu. “I believe that the total number of staff will decrease in after a dozen years. The ideal number of employees is 80,000.”

JD.com is on track with its ambitious plans. Recently, the company signed UAV delivery contracts with companies in Shanxi and Sichuan Province.

The company will build dozens of unmanned delivery airports in Sichuan Province. Once complete, it would take no longer than 24 hours to deliver fresh vegetables, wild fruits and other quality goods from Sichuan Province to urban residents in other parts of China.

This article by Wang Pan originally appeared in Tencent Technology News and was translated by Pandaily.

Click here to read the original Chinese article.