A self-driving delivery robot is displayed at the news conference for the establishment of the JD unmanned vehicle headquarters and Xingshen Technology Co brand on Sept 5. [Photo by Jiang Lian/csxrmt.com]

Self-driving delivery robots from Chinese e-commerce giant JD have emerged in the Changsha Economic Development Zone, delivering packages to customers.

The latest delivery robot is shaped like a small bus, is about 1.7 meters in height, and has a radar at the top that rotates 360 degrees. The screen on its front side displays text about actual road conditions. It also has 30 separate compartments and can carry a maximum load of 200 kilograms.

The robot has extraordinary self-control due to a fully autonomous and controllable software and hardware architecture, specifically the ability to use multiple sensors for fusion sense positioning, as well as an independent satellite navigation positioning system.

The robot can travel along the right side of the road at a maximum speed of 18 kilometers per hour, is able to steer clear of barriers on the road, and adheres to traffic lights. Customers will receive an instant message notifying them that their delivery has arrived, and they can choose to accept their packages via facial recognition, passwords, or JD.com's mobile app.

The delivery robots were developed by Changsha Xingshen Technology Co, a company established in 2017 with technicians from experienced scientific research teams. Specializing in the field of artificial intelligence, the company mainly focuses on the core technologies of autonomous driving. It has received investments from JD group, and helped deliver packages during the anniversary promotion.

JD Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the People's Government of Hunan Province on November 2017 to establish the headquarters of its unmanned delivery vehicles in Changsha, capital of Hunan province. JD has already launched its delivery robots in Changsha, and plans to observe and experiment with these robots in order to solve the last-mile delivery problem, the costliest part of overall parcel delivery costs.

The delivery robots will first become operational at JD's four delivery stations in Changsha county, and then be extended around the county. JD will also build a flagship station with national intelligent delivery services at the Industry Creation Coalesce in the Changsha Economic Development Zone. The station is expected to launch 10 to 20 delivery robots together with deliverymen to deliver JD orders within five kilometers of the Changsha Economic Development Zone, creating a new model for last-mile logistics distribution in China.

According to the strategic cooperation agreement signed between Xingshen Tech and Ping An Insurance Group, special insurance will be provided to guarantee the safe operation of self-driving robots.