(Photo/Courtesy of Ele.me)

Takeout food lovers in China will soon be able to get even faster food delivery, as drones are expected to serve the booming business.

Food delivery app Ele.me on Sept. 23 officially unveiled its drone at the World Unmanned System Conference (WUSC) in Shanghai. The drone is a third-generation drone independently developed by the company. It can fly at a maximum speed of 65 km/h. With a full load of 6 kilograms, the E7 can cover a distance of 20 kilometers.

(Photo/Courtesy of Ele.me)

Specifically, the takeout box it carries only weighs 485 grams, but can hold up to 20 liters, making it the world’s lightest and strongest takeout box.

The company began researching and developing food delivery drones in 2016. By September this year, Ele.me has conducted thousands of tests on its independently-designed drones. It is currently working on an even more advanced drone, which is expected to be put into tests in April 2018.

Ele.me did not reveal when it might release such drones to market, but the company did confirm that the drones would be used for line-haul delivery. Couriers will be responsible for sending orders to each house. Currently, food delivery is conducted only by couriers, which can be a problem in heavily congested cities.

In 2016, the company already set a record for delivering food in 30 minutes on average. The time may be further cut with the help of drones.

Also at the WUSC, Ele.me signed a deal with the operator of Shanghai’s Jinshan Industrial Park to launch a drone R&D center that includes the right to use certain airspace within the park, making the first R&D base for instant delivery drones.

However, the ambitious plan of Ele.me has raised some doubts. Some have questioned the safety of using food delivery drones in busy cities and whether drones with a carrying capacity of just 6 kilograms are sufficient for the booming food delivery business.

By the end of 2016, major food delivery apps Ele.me and Meituan both reported more than 9 million daily orders.