Beijing: Chinese food delivery service Ele.me unveiled a new smart helmet for the country's millions of delivery riders who are constantly seen running through busy streets to deliver people's food orders on time. Huh.

To ensure road safety for riders, the gear is loaded with a flurry of software-enabled functions, sensors and patents, according to the company. The company promoted it during the World Internet Conference held in Wuzhen last week.

While the helmet looks and feels like a typical piece of gear, ali.me, backed by Alibaba Group Holding, claims it is loaded with barometer, pressure and gravity sensors that can monitor a rider's posture. and can automatically contact emergency contacts in the event of an accident.

Also Read: COP27: US requests for China to pay for  jeopardising climate cooperation

Riders using the helmet can also take customer calls hands-free and travel to the destination thanks to AI-powered voice interaction capabilities provided by DAMO Academy, an Alibaba research center. According to Ele.me, the device has been under testing in Shanghai since late last year.

In China, there are more than 10 million full- and part-time delivery riders, a career that is considered more dangerous due to the increase in traffic accidents. In 2021, traffic accidents involving food delivery riders will increase by 80% year-on-year, according to a research note by the Ministry of Public Security's Road Safety Research Center, as Chinese citizens under lockdown turn to on-demand platforms for food and fresh produce.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy A33 5G has the One UI 5.0 update for Android 13

The helmets are still part of a pilot program run by Ele.me, and the equipment is free. The company said that the price of the helmet at the official launch is yet to be decided, but will be heavily discounted. A typical Ele.me-branded helmet currently costs 69 yuan ($9.7).

The second-generation smart helmet from Meituan, the largest food delivery service in China by market share, was unveiled in April.

Also Read: Is Elon Musk about to declare bankruptcy?

At that time, the company announced its intention to provide up to 100,000 helmets to its users in Beijing and Suzhou. According to a corporate filing, Meituan had more than 5 million riders on its platform by the end of 2021.