Delivery robots, start your engines

Dozens of small robots, driverless vehicles combined with express pickup containers, took to the streets for the first time from the Shangdi delivery station in northwest Beijing's Haidian district on Monday to improve delivery service and reduce costs.

The red and white automated delivery robots stood in a shining line at 10 am on Monday around the Shangdi distribution center, one of e-commerce giant JD's main delivery stations.

The driverless vehicles delivered 30 boxes of products, their top speed reaching 15 kilometers per hour. The robots, which automatically stop at red traffic lights, can carry up to 300 kilograms of goods.