In Shenzhen, drones can already deliver fresh food, medicine, and other items. According to statistics from the Civil Aviation Shenzhen Air Traffic Control Station, the maximum daily transportation volume has reached 5000; The "Sky Theater" built with drone swarm technology has achieved cross-border light and shadow shows in Shanghai, Dubai and other places, with a single audience of over one million people; A low altitude passenger route has been opened from Nantong to Pudong, Shanghai, covering 123 kilometers in 40 minutes. The ticket price is only 1.5 times that of high-speed rail, and it will be expanded to more urban agglomerations in the future

2024 is the 'year of low altitude economy'. This year, the low altitude economy was included in the government work report, marking its elevation from regional exploration to national strategy. The latest data shows that the scale of China's low altitude economy has exceeded 500 billion yuan, and is expected to reach 850 billion yuan by 2025, with an average annual growth rate of over 30%.

When discussing the low altitude economy, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Dan Zhongde stated that it is a typical emerging industry, a typical representative of new quality productivity, and an important direction for cultivating and developing new driving forces. It has the characteristics of innovation leadership, green low-carbon, and integration of data and reality, and will definitely form a trillion level industrial scale in the future.

Technological breakthroughs inject momentum into industrial development

The so-called low altitude economy refers to a comprehensive economic form that radiates multiple fields in the airspace below 3000 meters, driven by low altitude flight activities of manned and unmanned aircraft.

Over the past year, multiple efforts have been made on both the policy and industry sides, and the new track of low altitude economy has become increasingly broad.

Zhang Xu, deputy director of the Internet Research Institute of China Industrial Internet Research Institute, introduced to the reporter of Science and Technology Daily that, at the policy level, the Interim Regulations on Flight Management of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles was officially implemented, accelerating airspace opening and infrastructure construction in many places, such as Shanghai, Suzhou and other places have opened low load passenger routes; In terms of technological innovation, new equipment such as tilt rotor folding wing flying cars from Beihang University continue to break through, battery transparent monitoring and safety management technology are becoming increasingly mature, battery energy density continues to improve, and 5G-A communication technology achieves low altitude full coverage, injecting core momentum into industrial development.

Technological breakthroughs are the foundation of industrial development. Zhang Xu stated that the low altitude economy is accelerating its efforts in three technological directions: developing a dedicated airworthiness certification system based on the characteristics of new aircraft, and promoting standardization of key components such as batteries and communication equipment; Using low-cost and miniaturized deployment of secure communication modules for intelligent networking of low altitude aircraft for communication and network support; Accelerate the landing of cutting-edge technologies such as solid-state batteries and hydrogen fuel cells, significantly improve the energy density of graphene aviation batteries, and provide possibilities for long-distance and long endurance transportation.

At present, the infrastructure of low altitude economy is still weak. "Gan Huatian, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a professor at West China Hospital of Sichuan University, suggested improving the network system of takeoff and landing infrastructure, constructing low altitude flight service stations, charging and swapping stations, public testing fields, and unmanned systems in the entire space, improving infrastructure such as road networks and electricity, and providing services such as flight plan processing and aviation intelligence. At the same time, utilizing technologies such as the Internet of Things, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, a national urban grid airspace data model and geographic information system will be constructed to enhance the response speed and flight data processing capabilities of the low altitude flight service system.

Breaking down barriers and quickly implementing diverse applications

After the start button was pressed, a drone carrying medical equipment departed from Longquan Hospital of West China Hospital of Sichuan University and flew to a public health center 9 kilometers away. At the same time, another drone carrying samples to be tested landed precisely on the hospital's drone runway. This is a true portrayal of medical supplies distribution in the low altitude field.

The low altitude economy is moving from a 'conceptual blueprint' to a 'realistic picture,' "said Zhang Xu.

But there are still challenges to be solved in order to 'fly better'. Zong Qiang, a representative of the National People's Congress and the leader of the "Zong Qiang Class" of China Telecom Jiangxi Fuzhou Branch, talked about the issue of airspace management. He suggested optimizing airspace management and policies and regulations, strengthening infrastructure construction and service guarantees, using advanced technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, accurately delineating low altitude airspace, and implementing classified management according to different flight needs and airspace characteristics; Establish a dynamic adjustment mechanism to monitor real-time airspace usage, optimize airspace allocation in a timely manner based on changes in demand, and improve airspace utilization efficiency.

The consumption potential of low altitude economy has not been effectively stimulated, and the application scenarios need to be expanded, "said Gan Huatian.

Zong Qiang also suggested actively guiding and supporting emerging industries such as low altitude tourism, aviation sports, and aviation logistics, encouraging enterprises to explore innovative business models and expand low altitude economic application scenarios.

For example, the thriving drone industry provides efficient delivery solutions for new forms of instant retail, and the application of cutting-edge technology can further support technological development. Urban low altitude terminal logistics has the characteristics of high efficiency, stability, and high quality, which can better meet the new demands of the market for the development of instant logistics industry. This has also become the main reason for the rapid landing of related industries in the past two years, "said Yan Yan, the head of public affairs for Meituan's unmanned aerial vehicles.

At present, 15 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Changzhou have announced their joint efforts to build a low altitude economic ecosystem. They plan to create 100 demonstration projects by next year and collaborate with telecommunications operators to develop low altitude flight routes and low altitude application demonstration zones.

The development of low altitude economy has just begun, and there is great potential for the future, "Yan Yan said. In order to achieve the large-scale development of the urban low altitude instant delivery market as soon as possible, efforts can be made to increase the development and opening up of public service scenarios, such as parks and libraries suitable for low altitude delivery. Through scenario driven industrial innovation, it can help accelerate the construction of urban low altitude logistics networks.