China’s leading fishing port has announced what it claims is the first use of a drone flight for long-distance delivery of seafood.
A 20-kilogram shipment of seafood from Zhoushan to Shanghai – a distance of 200 kilometers – took one hour aboard a V-50 Great White Shark model drone built by Shanghai-based Feng Fei Aviation Science and Technology Co., which also trades as Shanghai Auto Flight Co. The flight, as reported by local channel Zhoushan TV, was an experimental one and took the seafood to a seafood retail outlet in the Jinshan district of Shanghai.
Drones have been embraced by the Zhoushan city government for inspections and enforcement of zoning regulations as well as illegal waste disposal, according to the report. But using drones for seafood delivery could prove a cost-efficient solution for shipping high-value seafood throughout China due to its challenges with freight congestion, traffic jams, and higher fuel costs.
According to Feng Fei – which operates a research center in Munich, Germany, and another in Shenzhen, China – the flight cost CNY 4.00 (USD 0.60, EUR 0.52), which was the cost of the electricity involved in charging the drone, though China’s electricity tariffs are highly subsidized. That low cost could prove a game-changer for online grocers keen to expand their sales of high-margin seafood.
Further test flights will be conducted to fly seafood from Zhoushan to other cities along China’s east coast, according to Feng Fei, though it said rules governing electromagnetic interference and other issues have to resolved before drone delivery can be mainstreamed.
Drone usage has also been recently embraced by Chinese agriculture – with government encouragement – for application of fertilizers and insecticides.
Photo courtesy of Feng Fei Aviation Science and Technology Co.
