ALIBABA Cloud, the digital technologies and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, unveiled its autonomous logistics robot for last-mile deliveries at the online Apsara Conference last week.

Developed by the Alibaba DAMO Academy, the global research initiative by Alibaba Group, the delivery robot can carry 50 packages at one time and cover 100 kilometers on a single charge. It is estimated the mobile robot should be able to deliver as many as 500 packages a day to one designated community or campus, meeting the rising demand for speedy last-mile delivery in China. The logistics robot has multiple applications such as safety patrol, tourism guidance and pandemic prevention.

“We are expecting a rapid spike of delivery demands brought by the thriving new retail and local service businesses in the increasingly digitalized world,” said Jeff Zhang, president of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

Alibaba also unveiled a cloud computer as the e-commerce giant wants to upgrade its cloud business to make cloud technology accessible to everyone.

Named Wuying, the cloud computer is the size of a smartphone and users can run workloads on the cloud and perform complicated computing tasks that they can’t do on traditional personal computers, such as rendering a video, Zhang said.

He also noted that Wuying, with the help of the cloud, has an infinite amount of computing power and is not only for personal use at home, but can also be used by governments and enterprises.

The Apsara Conference, formerly known as Ali Cloud Developers’ Conference, is the earliest platform showcasing innovations in China. Themed “Leap into the future of digital intelligence,” the focus of the 2020 Apsara Conference shifted from science and technology to cover a wider range of industry, technology and consumer electronics.(SD-Agencies)