Lyu Erxue (R), deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, awards a certificate of approval for using drones to deliver mail to Zhang Lei, CEO of Hangzhou Songba Logistics Technology Co affiliated with Hangzhou Antwork Co, at a ceremony in Hangzhou on Oct 15. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]

Hangzhou will soon be able to use drones to deliver mail after a successful experiment in which a drone flew three kilometers to deliver four cups of coffee on Oct 15.

Hangzhou announced that it would be promoting the practice in urban areas, with local authorities planning to test it out first in Hangzhou Future Technology City and Binjiang district. 

The drones will help deliver more than coffee, but also medical supplies and postal parcels, said representatives of Hangzhou Songba Logistics Technology Co, which conducted the delivery experiment.

On the same day, Lyu Erxue, deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, awarded two certificates of approval to use drones to deliver mail to Zhang Lei, CEO of Hangzhou Songba Logistics Technology Co affiliated with Hangzhou Antwork Co.

The two certificates are the first to be granted by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in the unmanned aerial vehicle industry, and also the first in the world to be targeted at densely populated urban areas.

Yin Shijun, chief engineer of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said that the approval is a milestone for China's unmanned aviation industry and will be remembered for years to come. 

He expressed hope that Hangzhou Songba can develop a supervision and development model that can be duplicated and promoted on a large scale and contribute to the sustainable development of China's unmanned aviation industry. 

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, which is closely related to cloud computing, artificial intelligence and 5G technologies, has become a major focus of the manufacturing industry. 

According to the blue book published by Morgan Stanley in 2018, the air traffic market value will soon reach $1.5 trillion, half of which will be generated by automated air delivery.

Hangzhou Antwork Co is a major company specializing in unmanned aerial vehicles for commercial use, and has carried out cooperation projects with a number of Chinese logistics giants such as China Post, Suning Corporation and ZTO to conduct research into UAV distribution.

Before Hangzhou Songba gained the approval certificates, the company conducted more than 20,000 test flights in mountainous areas and passed inspection from the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

A drone carrying four cups of coffee takes off for a test flight conducted by Hangzhou Songba Logistics Technology Co. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]