news

recently, in the dongxihu park of wuhan xingang airport comprehensive bonded zone, after being reviewed and cleared by hankou customs, a drone carrying cross-border e-commerce imported goods took off smoothly and delivered the goods to the hands of consumer ms. li 13 kilometers away in just 20 minutes. in the previous cross-border e-commerce delivery model, this process usually takes 1 to 2 days. this is the first time that cross-border e-commerce imported goods have been delivered directly by drone in central china.

while this news has attracted attention, it has also raised questions for many people: i have heard about drone delivery a few years ago, but why has such a convenient and fast delivery model not been popularized? when will it become popular?

in fact, drone delivery is also a kind of low-altitude economy. it has not been popularized for many years, which is related to many technical factors. if these technical problems are solved, we may usher in an era of great development of low-altitude economy.

to improve flying ability.

the low-altitude economy is expected to become the "next new energy vehicle industry". just as there was "range anxiety" and "loss of control anxiety" in the early stages of new energy vehicles, low-altitude aircraft, mainly electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (evtol) and drones, also have significant "air range anxiety" and "air loss of control anxiety". since aircraft need to overcome gravity when flying in the air, rather than just the friction of the ground, compared with new energy vehicles, the power consumption is higher, and the requirements for battery endurance and lightweight structural materials are also higher. the popularization of low-altitude aircraft urgently needs to develop better lightweight composite materials structures and develop power batteries with higher energy density, so as to improve their load-bearing capacity, maneuverability and endurance, and meet the large-scale operational needs of the future low-altitude economy.

we must strengthen intelligent management and control.

civil airliners cruise at an altitude of about 10,000 meters because the high-altitude air flow is stable and the flight is smooth. low-altitude aircraft fly in the low-altitude atmosphere, especially in areas below 600 meters, where there are frequent rapid changes in wind direction and wind speed. they may also encounter strong convective weather such as short-term heavy rainfall, and the electromagnetic environment of low-altitude flight is more complex. these environmental factors have put forward more stringent requirements on the flight control system of low-altitude aircraft. in addition, the large-scale increase in low-altitude aircraft will also bring new safety issues, such as low-altitude aircraft collision accidents, the demarcation and management of no-fly airspace, and the use of aircraft to commit crimes. the airspace can only be released if it is under control. to solve such problems, on the one hand, it is necessary to strengthen aviation guidance, introduce insurance and arbitration, and strengthen legislation and supervision. on the other hand, it is also necessary to build a low-altitude intelligent network and a smart airspace management system to promote the integrated development of smart cities and low-altitude economy and ensure the safe use of low-altitude airspace.

we should advocate cross-domain integration.

low-altitude flight technology can empower all walks of life: in modern agriculture, drones are used for sowing, fertilizing, and spraying; in disaster prevention and mitigation, drones are used for inspection and early warning; in energy, mining, construction and other industries, drones are used for inspection and surveying; in the service industry, drones are used for express delivery, low-altitude aircraft are used for manned sightseeing tours, and air taxis are used to change the future urban travel scene. based on the extensive integration and application of electrification, digitization, networking, and artificial intelligence technologies, the low-altitude economy can not only significantly improve the operating efficiency of traditional industries, but also create unprecedented application scenarios for many fields, becoming an important driving force for the transformation and upgrading of all walks of life.

at present, the low-altitude economy is leading the wave of emerging industries around the world with its high-tech, high-efficiency and high-quality development characteristics, and has become a key force in promoting the high-quality development of china's economy and improving the modern industrial system. looking to the future, we must carefully plan and coordinate the construction of basic systems for airspace resources, data management and other elements, and further accelerate the transformation of low-altitude scientific and technological achievements through measures such as strengthening support for scientific and technological innovation, promoting industry-university-research cooperation, and building innovative service platforms, so as to realize the vision of "flying whenever you want" for the low-altitude economy.

(economic daily)