McDonald's Will Now Drone-Deliver Your Order to a Shanghai Skate Park
Automated docking stations and robotic-arm loading move meals from the restaurant to a skate park receiver in about 10 minutes.
Summary
McDonald's China and Meituan Drone have opened what they call China's first restaurant-brand-exclusive drone delivery route, now operating along Shanghai's West Bund
The route runs from the McDonald's on Longteng Avenue in Xuhui Riverside to a receiving point at the West Bund Skate Park
Customers order through the Meituan platform, with a robotic arm loading the drone and delivery landing in around 10 minutes under suitable conditions
McDonald’s China and Meituan Drone have launched China’s first restaurant-brand-exclusive drone delivery route, sending a classic Big Mac set airborne from a Shanghai restaurant to mark its debut. Built jointly by the two companies, the route links the McDonald’s on Longteng Avenue in Xuhui Riverside to a receiving point at the West Bund Skate Park, extending the chain’s food and service into riverside, sport and outdoor-leisure settings along the waterfront.
The system is built around a dedicated setup rather than an off-the-shelf delivery drone. After a customer places an order through the Meituan platform, McDonald’s staff carry the food to a smart docking station just outside the Longteng Avenue restaurant, where an automated robotic arm handles the loading. The drone then flies the order along its exclusive route to the designated receiving point, where customers scan a QR code to collect it. In suitable flight conditions, an order can arrive in roughly 10 minutes.
The hardware sets the limits of what can make the trip. Each flight carries a maximum payload of about 2.4 kilograms, enough to cover most combinations of burgers, snacks and drinks. The menu available through the route runs to more than 30 McDonald’s items, spanning classic sets, sides, beverages, McCafé and McFlurry, aimed at customers running, cycling or skating along the river as much as weekend family outings and gatherings with friends.
The route is operational now, running from the McDonald’s on Longteng Avenue in Xuhui Riverside to the West Bund Skate Park receiving point, with orders placed through the Meituan platform.
