Express delivery "falling from ★↕®≈the sky" is becoming the norm.

Located in the eastern part ∑&  of Shanghai, the Bay Scenic Area is kn≈" ÷own as one of the eight most beautiful §↕★£coastlines in China, attracting man®→ δy hiking enthusiasts to crossπ∏∞ every day. It is 6 kilo₽♠meters long and requires crossing mounα♠¥βtains and valleys to reach the dest £♥ination, with limited supplie÷↔s along the way.

In May of this year, Lo€¥nLord UAV launched a drone descent ε≤שdelivery service. Tourists can pu£ ‌rchase supplies thro≤>'×ugh QR codes, and within about 10 m↑&‍inutes, the drone can drop the supplie ​s at designated locations.

In its early years, Lo₹ nLord was just an internal incubat•¶ion project. In 2021, ≈​the company was estab©♦lished and has since ↔≈₽←achieved an internal closed loop of des÷↕¥ign, research and development≤‍•→, production, and operation.

Riding on the wind of low σ©altitude economy, LonLord €✘♣​UAV has entered a period ∑↕of commercialization di¶‍←♥vidends. At the beginning of ♥γ this year, we obtaiα‌←★ned the first national dro​&★ne operation license an↓★¶≥d began opening it to customers ¶ ™↔in March.

LonLord drone logistics product manager♦∑↑ engineer Leon revealed th♥Ω£‍at the company has b←££een operating normally in the Hangzhou‌↕‍ Bay Area, with an average daily t↑↕ransportation volume exceeding 20000✘≤π∞ in June, doubling from the beginning₩€ of the year.

Track heating up

In the past, drones were a niche in☆ dustry dominated by consumer grade dro↑£✘nes.

In 2020, drones were widely used as "a€ irborne guardians" to transport♦< • medical and epidemic preveσ±★÷ntion materials, acc₹♥ ​elerating market penet•↑₹ration.

Nowadays, LonLord drones a∞​πre entering the logistics→ ∑♦ and distribution sce₹'ne, flying into ordin✔ ≈ary people's homes.

Engineer Leon said that the cσ♥ompany has opened more than 400 air ro↔™utes nationwide, operating on a large☆× scale in scenarios such as exΩ↑®"press delivery, emergency resc‍​≠ue, medical transportation, fresh fo★Ωod cold chain, and cros☆$s sea and cross mountain ope¶✘©βrations.

In 2023, LonLord's small logistics ≈€drones will transport over 800↑∞000 vehicles nationwide, with a 2₽±.3-fold increase in revenue.

The heating up of the drone logis< tics track cannot be separated from ↔&÷≠two factors: market δ≠∑£demand driven and policy catalyzed.★σ¶∞

People's demand for☆♥δ↔ logistics timeliness is b♣↔ecoming increasingly high, anεΩ™d it has become stronger in the pγ→ast two years, "engineer Leon mentionσ×₽ed. Since last year, many companies' ✘ have approached LonLord in h→↑®opes of landing drone transportation.​φ

The strict control of ai↔$rspace applications and site c± βonstruction in the past has also l®÷ed to policy relaxation‍>.

Previously, to operate unmanne•∏d aerial vehicle logis≠¶tics on a large scale, frequent coord↔♥✘±ination and communication wit←  h local governments were ♥≈required. Now, government departments♥λ& have established working £'≤groups or arranged dedicated personne→"₽≥l to provide full su ∞pport, "said engineer Leon.β€

Shanghai, known as the "capital o↔←f drones", is the cit"‍∞αy with the earliest layout¶÷ of the unmanned aerial vehic÷≈∏÷le industry in China. In terms of core φ× ↕airspace application anσ₽d site construction, t↑↑®&here is strong policy support.

LonLord's business focus is on t ÷he Hangzhou Bay Area, mainly in ★γShanghai. This year, ta∏∞₽king advantage of the÷​€♦ frequent policies in v₩£arious regions, LonLord has expan×™∏≈ded its services to Wuhan, Hang£≠¶zhou, Hefei, Suzhou, Wuxi and oth£♦er places.

Currently, LonLord UAV is expβ&€∑loring the advantages of unmanned € ¥aerial vehicles (UAVs) by c®φonnecting them in an "air-to-☆∞↕air" manner to create a$  three-stage air transportation ' ± network consisting of "mainline ‍♣large manned transport aircraf≈₩t+branch line large '>UAVs+terminal small UAVs", which ac§  celerates cross provinciα ‍al logistics.

In June of this year, the ₽←model successfully made its m≈¥→aiden flight in Chengdu∞ ©¥, verifying the feasibility of ♣&✘integrating unmanned aerial ™‍♥vehicles with manned →♥×aerial vehicles. However, achi₽‌eving nationwide coverage still depends©→<♦ on the level of policy suppor÷Ω✘πt.

Scene positioning

In the current logistics and distribu>δ tion scenario, drones existβ©™ as a supplement to ground trans<✔₹portation capacity. Lonβ§♠Lord's business la≈♥☆yout mainly revolves↕§​ around "urgent, difficult, ​ risky, and expensive".

The most common type is urπ♠<ban express delivery, which mainly incl↑♣udes same city instant delivery and cro♥↔₹ss city express delivery.¶↔

LonLord's same city delivery servi​§"σce is mainly conducted i↔∏n Shanghai, and has achieved normali≠ δ™zed operation in the σε®♦four outer districts of Fengxian, Jin≥♦‌>shan, Chongming, and Lingang. LinΩ<gang and Qingpu district ‍≠s are also expanding.

In terms of cross city exprβ♦‍↔ess delivery, we have achieved mutua≈×l shipping between multi€≈₽ple cities such as Shanghai♠®‍, Suzhou, Ningbo, Nantong, Hangz≥•hou, and Wuxi.

Compared to traditional traσ≈♥♠nsportation methods, the bigg✔±φest selling point ofα  drone logistics is eff≠Ωiciency, which can shorten delivery ♥£time by 70%.

Taking Suzhou to Shanghai as an exampl• e, if you choose LonLord UAV ex×∞press delivery and place an orde♣♥γ≥r before 10am, it can be deliv✘×'∏ered to the customer on th ✘®e same day at the fastest,↔€  taking more than 8 hours.

Using drone delivery, orde↓<rs can be placed anytime and any×$where within the cover≈≈εage area, and delivery ca∏♣n take an average of 3 hou ≤rs, "said engineer Leon. ≈≤Same city express del©​ivery can be shortened to within t ₹∞←wo hours.

Especially in congestΩ₩×ed urban areas, relyin•φ♠÷g on traditional transportation β↑€ methods may result in several hours of " §≤congestion. Drones can bypass g£>round obstacles and deliver ‌® packages to customers on time.

Drones are more effective in×≠β islands and mountains that cannot £φ↔be quickly reached by human lab↓•∞or.

On islands, material transpo₹α∞∞rtation often relies on ferries and pa‍£©©ssenger ships, which have slo∞σ wer delivery times. Drones can take off •φ immediately, making it more ≠↕efficient and flexible; In ♣♥₹mountainous scenic area£•‌s with inconvenient transportation®✔∏, the supply of materials up ¥βthe mountain and the disp​®γ£osal of garbage down the mountain€✘←≈ are major pain points.Ω• In the past, they relied mo‌♦re on mountain pickers, but now drones™₩​ can also solve them.φ←↑β

LonLord is also making new attem≠ pts at unmanned technology. In Octob£ er 2023, unmanned transfer cabin≠•≠∑ets will be installed in scenarios $ αsuch as universities a★¥πnd blood stations to achieve 24-hΩΩ↓↓our unmanned automated delivery.

At present, during th¶♥¥αe promotion of LonLo"'rd in the Hangzhou Bay Area, the sam$₽±↑e city instant delivery is priced at∞₽← 20 yuan, and cross city express deliv‌βπery is priced at 40 yuan.

take a heavy burden and ∑♣σembark on a long road

In the short term, the rapid ∏×development of drone logistics across ↑ the country still ha <₩s a long way to go. To a<₩chieve large-scale co​ mmercialization, LonLor ∞<≠d still needs to make efforts in two as∑​γ≈pects.

One is to break through the normalizat &ion of flight in harsh weather co₹​nditions.

The existing LonLord drones can wε‍‍ithstand wind force of level 7, modera®÷te rain, and moderate snow. In hea ‍×vy rain and other situatioφσ σns, most drones in the industr≠≥₹y cannot fly normally.

We are trying to break through this₹₩™✔ technological challenge and solve the•γλγ need for people to use←× drone logistics anytime, anywhere,♠π "said engineer Leon.

Secondly, the encrypted airline networΩ‍k will expand its opera☆¥<tional scenarios to high♥§±βer population density↕‌≤ urban areas.

In the early days, drone compan©↑ies mostly operated in "∞low-density urban areas. Afte∏↑☆r large-scale and normalized operatio∞φns, LonLord gradually expanded itΩφαs services from suburban areas  ✘¶βto central urban areas such as Nan ≤§shan and Futian in Shanghai.

With the acceleration of tδ↓& he "web weaving" process, LonLord is ∞→$¥also piloting small-scal×≤γe scenarios that require high air route↔×✘∞ density.

The scenic area food deliver>¥y scene we are expanding has been pi£'loted and promoted in Lingang∞‍λ New Area, Shanghai, "s ♦>§aid engineer Leon.

As an emerging field, the indu↔←​ stry standards for drone logistic↕≠s also urgently need t±≈ o be improved.

At present, the drone i♣≈​ndustry lacks a unified ✘<•γnational standard, which varie∏↔s in terms of product size,→γ∞← material, battery, as well a→₹s construction standar♦ ®ds for sites and charging rooms.

In addition, the industry♣"≠© lacks a unified scheduling plat‌&λ∑form, and drones have™♠® to apply for every flight, resultinασδ↔g in insufficient flex±€™§ibility.

Looking forward to the establishment ★€×∏of unified industry standa ‌©rds at the government level in the fut∞σ✘ure and the continuous improvement of p •ublic infrastructure cons÷₩truction for drones.‍φ€ At that time, drone≤≥±§ logistics will 'δ<≥take off', "said engineer Le→±→on.

Whether LonLord can operat$φe normally nationwide in the✘♣ future will be the key to LonL ≤$★ord UAV's 36 hour nati ¶∞onwide reach.

"We are very optimistic abou₽βt this model," said engi®αneer Leon.