Low-altitude economy | Imaginative applications of the low-altitude economy - The imminent "three-dimensional" industrial revolution.
Published:
2025-02-10
The term "low-altitude economy" has long been proposed, but the gathering and development of the industry require time and space to brew. The widely recognized first year of the low-altitude economy is the recently passed year of 2024. We can see that the national and various provincial governments have intensively issued policies and legal documents related to the low-altitude economy, and many draft opinions awaiting promulgation are on the way. In 2024, the national two sessions for the first time included "low-altitude economy" in the government work report; on December 27, 2024, the Development and Reform Commission's Department of Low-Altitude Economy officially made its debut. In Shandong, on November 2, 2024, the Shandong Provincial Government Office issued the "Three-Year Action Plan for High-Quality Development of Low-Altitude Economy in Shandong Province (2025-2027)", viewing the low-altitude economy as a representative of strategic emerging industries and new productive forces, and formulating an action plan to promote high-quality development of the low-altitude economy. Guangzhou directly issued local regulations, the "Guangzhou Low-Altitude Economy Development Regulations", which will be implemented on February 28, 2025. This is a looming "three-dimensional space" industrial revolution that will transcend the public air transport phase and enter the era of low-altitude economy in everyday living spaces.
The term 'low-altitude economy' has long been proposed, but the gathering and development of the industry require time and space to brew. The recognized first year of the low-altitude economy is the recently passed 2024. We can see that the country and various provinces and cities have intensively introduced policies and legal documents related to the low-altitude economy, and many draft opinions awaiting promulgation and implementation are on the way. The 2024 National Two Sessions for the first time included 'low-altitude economy' in the government work report; on December 27, 2024, the Development and Reform Commission's Low-Altitude Economy Development Department officially made its debut; in Shandong, on November 2, 2024, the Shandong Provincial People's Government Office issued the 'Three-Year Action Plan for High-Quality Development of Low-Altitude Economy in Shandong Province (2025-2027)', viewing the low-altitude economy as a representative of strategic emerging industries and new productive forces, and formulating action plans to promote high-quality development of the low-altitude economy; Guangzhou directly issued local regulations 'Guangzhou Low-Altitude Economy Development Regulations', which will be implemented on February 28, 2025. This is a looming 'three-dimensional space' industrial revolution that will transcend the public air transport stage and enter the era of low-altitude economy in daily living space.
The low-altitude economy relies on low-altitude airspace (according to the current documents of the State Council, low-altitude airspace generally refers to the space above the region and sea area, below a true height of 1000 meters, with some extending to 3000 meters. Due to the complexity of airspace management, you can refer to the national airspace basic classification diagram for understanding) and involves various flight activities of unmanned or manned aircraft such as drones,eVTOL(electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft) and other unmanned or manned aircraft, radiating a comprehensive economic form across logistics, passenger transport, emergency response, cultural tourism, agriculture and industry, and public management. With policy support and technological breakthroughs, China's low-altitude economy will enter the stage of large-scale application in 2025, and its application scenarios will continue to expand. A profound three-dimensional space revolution that changes traditional industrial models and lifestyles has already begun.
Refer to the 'National Airspace Basic Classification Method'
The existence and development of the low-altitude economy depend on specific application scenarios. The richer the scenarios, the higher the integration of the low-altitude economy with production and life, which can truly realize the three-dimensional space revolution.
1. Logistics Distribution: Breaking through the 'last mile' and intercity transport bottlenecks
Low-altitude logistics is one of the first scenarios to achieve large-scale implementation in the low-altitude economy. Through drone delivery, companies have successfully solved the problems of low efficiency in urban end logistics and transportation difficulties in remote areas. For example: urban instant delivery: Shenzhen has built a low-altitude logistics network covering the entire city, equipped with 150 drones and over 80 takeoff and landing points. A single drone can complete a takeoff and landing every 3 minutes, and a 10-kilogram drone can complete intercity transport from Shenzhen to Zhuhai (45 kilometers) in 25 minutes, far exceeding traditional land transport efficiency. Shenzhen also has a 'low-altitude + rail' transport project, where you can directly board a 'flying vehicle' from the high-speed rail station, reaching over 90% of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area within an hour. The transportation of fresh produce and medical supplies in remote mountainous areas and islands has become routine, as companies like SF Express and JD.com have expanded their delivery range to areas difficult to cover by traditional transportation using long-endurance drones. It is predicted that by 2025, the drone logistics market will exceed 50 billion yuan, which will become the core growth point of the low-altitude economy.
2. Emergency Rescue and Public Safety Management: The 'lifeline' of airspace advantages
In the fields of disaster rescue and public safety, the rapid response capability of low-altitude aircraft significantly enhances emergency efficiency in cases of saturated ground traffic or emergencies:
Disaster inspection and material delivery:Changsha Xiangjiang New DistrictThe helicopters at the aviation emergency rescue base can respond to accident sites in the city and surrounding areas within 30 minutes, while drones can transmit high-definition images in real-time during disasters such as fires and floods to assist decision-making.
Power and infrastructure inspection:Fully autonomous drone systems have been applied inSaihanba Mechanical Forest Farmand other complex environments, achieving automatic takeoff and landing, flight route planning, and data collection for power inspections, significantly reducing manual risks and improving accuracy.
Public Transport Monitoring and Management:Drones can monitor traffic flow in real-time, providing data support for traffic management departments to help them make timely traffic scheduling decisions. After a traffic accident occurs, drones can quickly reach the scene for aerial surveys and collect accident information. In cases of natural disasters or accidents causing traffic interruptions, drones can quickly assess the situation and guide rescue operations.
3. Agriculture and Industry: The 'aerial assistant' for intelligent upgrades
Low-altitude technology promotes the intelligent transformation of traditional agriculture and industry:
Precision Agriculture:Plant protection drones combined with remote sensing data achieve precise pesticide spraying, efficient sowing and fertilization, and real-time irrigation monitoring, truly achieving 'wherever needed, point there.' The flight speed of plant protection drones is fast, capable of irrigating hundreds of acres per hour, and their efficiency is more than 100 times higher than traditional manual operations.
Industrial Inspection and Environmental Monitoring:Drones are widely used for inspections of industrial facilities such as oil pipelines and wind power equipment, while also monitoring environmental pollution throughmultispectral sensorsto enhance ecological governance efficiency.
4. Urban Air Mobility (UAM): The 'third dimension' of future travel
With the maturity of eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing manned transport) technology, urban air mobility has begun pilot operations:
Air taxis and airport shuttles:Cities like Shenzhen and Guangzhou have begun trial operations of eVTOL manned flights, mainly for business commuting and airport shuttles. It is expected that by 2025, the cost of flying cars will drop to 1.5 million yuan, and in the future, the cost per seat could be as low as $0.5/mile after scaling up. The Yangtze River Delta region has opened low-altitude passenger transport routes from Kunshan to Pudong, reducing a 2-hour land journey to half an hour, and will further connect cities like Shanghai and Taicang in the future.
5. Low-altitude Cultural Tourism: Reconstructing the travel experience from a 'God's perspective'
Low-altitude sightseeing has become a new growth pole in the cultural tourism industry:
Aerial tourism and sports:Nearly 80% of consumers expect low-altitude cultural tourism projects, and aerial sightseeing is favored for its ability to reach scenic spots that traditional transportation cannot cover, such as canyons and islands.
Cultural integration and internationalization:China's low-altitude cultural tourism projects are integrating with traditional culture, such as drone formation performances and low-altitude photography, while also promoting technology exports to countries along the "Belt and Road". We all remember the hundreds of drones dancing in Saudi Arabia, vividly displaying the giant portraits of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the sky.Chinese dronestechnology level.
Many application scenarios will continue to increase with technological breakthroughs and commercial operations, but these application scenarios will ultimately face several issues such as drone certification for airworthiness, low-altitude flight scheduling and operational support, airspace and route approval, data security and compliance, and the implementation of policies and regulations. Only when the collaboration of law, technology, and market efforts is achieved, can the low-altitude economy truly transition from "pilot exploration" to "full-area empowerment," becoming a new engine for economic growth. In the next article, we will explore the legal issues of the low-altitude economy together.
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