JD Logistics — the logistics arm of Chinese e-commerce giant, JD.com, Inc. — has launched its autonomous delivery robots in Shanghai as the current Covid-19 outbreak in the financial hub grows.

JD said the robots will provide contactless last-mile delivery for certain locked-down neighborhoods in Pudong.

It noted that the robot applied in Shanghai can load up to 100 kilograms of goods and drive 80 kilograms per charge. With AI technology and multiple sensors, the robot can recognize, avoid obstacles, and plan its route to the destination.

"Since 2020, JD has deployed its autonomous delivery vehicles for COVID-19 relief in Wuhan, Shijiazhuang, Guangzhou, Beijing, Tianjin, Shenzhen, and now Shanghai," JD said, adding that in Wuhan, the robots traveled over 6,800 kilometers and delivered more than 13,000 packages during the peak of the pandemic in early 2020.

"JD.com debuted its first autonomous delivery vehicle in 2016 and revealed the Level-4 autonomous driving robot in 2019, becoming the world's first company to apply Level-4 autonomous driving technology on public roads without any human interaction," the Chinese logistics company said.

It added that so far, the company has applied nearly 400 autonomous delivery vehicles in more than 25 cities in China, meeting the delivery needs in scenarios such as residential compounds, commercial centers, business parks, hotels, university campuses, supermarkets, and more.