Blizzard-Hit Central China Deploys Drones to Clear Snow and Ice

(Yicai) Feb. 6 -- After recent winter blizzards and sleet in central China, the use of drones and robots to provide snow-melting and de-icing services in the region has soared.

Unmanned aerial vehicles made by DJI Technology are being used for road de-icing, melting snow in greenhouses, and fertilizing wheat fields, a sales manager at the Shenzhen-based drones giant told Yicai. There was less demand for such services in previous year, when the build-up of snow was not as great, the person noted.

A drone pilot for XAG told Yicai that there is a risk of gas stations and large-span greenhouses collapsing due to heavy snows. The Guangzhou-based company has received the most requests for spreading snow-melting agents from gas stations, he added.

“Serving six or seven clients a day, I’ve had no free time at work in recent days,” the pilot noted. “The other drone pilots in the company have also been quite busy, whereas this was the slackest in previous years.”

Freezing rain in Hubei province has also stoked local demand for snow-melting agents. “After the sleet, the drone pilots are a bit overwhelmed and have to work continuously day and night,” the regional sales manager at DJI said. 

DJI's drones have been used to de-ice wires in Hubei, the regional sales manager of its agricultural UAVs noted.

This year's freezing rain is very bad, covering electricity pylons and cables and leading to power outages in some areas of Hubei, according to a source at State Grid Hubei Electric Power. The utility uses drones to check cables and identify areas at risk as well as for de-icing frozen sections of power lines, the person added. 

The demand for de-icing robots is also up due to the cold weather, said Wu Haiteng, deputy general manager of Hangzhou Shenhao Technology. The firm's main clients for de-icing robots on power transmission lines are State Grid units, Wu said, adding it has sold more than a dozen this year, with seven or eight potential new clients inquiring about the products.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev