Students at Tsinghua University Shenzhen International Graduate School in Nanshan District can now have their meals delivered by drones from eateries outside the campus after the service was launched on Dec. 19 to coincide with the annual Meituan Academy of Robotics Shenzhen conference held there.

A food delivery drone flies over the campus of Tsinghua University Shenzhen International Graduate School in Nanshan District on Dec. 19. Photo from Xinhua

It is the first time for the online delivery platform Meituan to launch such a service on a Shenzhen campus. During a trial operation, a drone carrying a meal took off from the Yitian Holiday Village in Xili, Nanshan District, a shopping center that is about 2.6 kilometers away from the campus of the Tsinghua University Shenzhen International Graduate School, and it took it six minutes to reach an intelligent drop-off locker on the campus. Students can choose a designated drop-off locker on the campus when they place an order online. At present, businesses that can offer the service include fast food restaurants, tea houses and coffee shops.

Since Meituan made its first drone delivery to a real user in Shenzhen in 2021, the company has launched similar services in eight commercial areas in Shenzhen and other cities, delivering more than 210,000 orders to customers through 22 different routes, covering venues such as offices, scenic spots, and hospitals.

During the launching ceremony, Meituan said its robotics research institute will release a plan for 2024 to cooperate with domestic and foreign universities and scholars on topics related to embodied intelligence, automated driving, and robotics.