A UFO-shaped manned flying craft captured by a civilian.
United Aircraft unveiled its brand-new Q100 agricultural drone to the public for the first time at the exhibition.
At the 8th World UAV Conference, United Aircraft unveiled the large unmanned helicopter TD220.
"This is so futuristic!" On the evening of May 25th, a resident named Ame (pseudonym) in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, just walked out of the Xin'an Station subway exit and saw a "UFO" flash across the sky.
It is reported that this "UFO" is a disc-shaped manned flying vehicle exhibited at the 9th Shenzhen International UAV Exhibition from May 24th to 26th, mainly used for manned sightseeing in scenic areas. At this conference, nearly 500 domestic and foreign companies showcased over 4,000 new UAV systems, with an indoor exhibition area of 35,000 square meters and an outdoor exhibition area (at Talent Park) of 30,000 square meters, featuring over 16 UAV competitions and performances.
The dazzling "UFO" is a disc-shaped manned flying vehicle
On the evening of May 25th, a resident named Ame in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, just walked out of the Xin'an Station subway exit and saw a "UFO" flash across the sky. Many residents stopped in their tracks and speculated, "Could this be a UFO from the movies descending into reality?" This incident sparked discussions in Ame's neighborhood group, with neighbors eagerly sharing photos and videos of the "UFO" they captured, unraveling Ame's mystery.
In the videos shared by Ame's neighbors, the manned flying vehicle floated silently in mid-air, performing difficult maneuvers, to the cheers of the citizens. The flying vehicle eventually landed near the Happy Harbor. The citizens finally saw its true appearance - a massive silver disc about 5 meters in diameter, shimmering with blue-green light, with red signal lights flickering intermittently, creating a mysterious spectacle under the night sky.
According to reports, this "UFO" is a disc-shaped manned flying vehicle exhibited at the 9th Shenzhen International UAV Exhibition from May 24th to 26th, mainly used for manned sightseeing in scenic areas. Citizens are curious and excited about this high-tech product, expressing their desire to experience this cool flying sightseeing method firsthand. Some even joked, "Is it expensive? Can I buy one for commuting to work?"
By 2035, China's low-altitude economic market is expected to reach 3.5 trillion yuan
The mind-boggling "UFO" UAV has become a symbol of China's UAV industry development. At the 2024 8th World UAV Conference and International Low-Altitude Economy and Unmanned Systems Expo, Yang Jincai, Academician of the European Academy of Sciences, Executive Chairman of the 2024 World UAV Conference, and President of the Shenzhen UAV Industry Association, introduced that UAVs are a high-tech, high value-added industry. In 2023, China's UAV industry grew by 27.5%, with a total output value of 152 billion yuan.
Shenzhen, known as the world's UAV capital, saw a 29% growth in the UAV industry, with over 1,730 UAV companies and an output value of 96 billion yuan. Yang Jincai mentioned, "People used to say that Shenzhen can produce UAVs, Nanshan can produce UAVs, and now there is a new place where Futian and Huaqiangbei can also produce complete UAVs." UAVs, as the leading industry in the low-altitude economy, with an annual growth rate exceeding 20%, are becoming a new growth point for the national economy. According to forecasts, China's low-altitude economy is expected to reach 1.5 trillion yuan by 2025 and potentially 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035.
When it comes to global UAVs, all eyes are on China, and within China, all eyes are on Shenzhen. Since 2017, Shenzhen has successfully hosted eight World UAV Conferences, with over 300,000 domestic and foreign representatives from more than 140 countries and regions participating, making 13 countries the main guest countries. This has greatly promoted exchanges in the UAV industry between China and other countries, enhancing Shenzhen's and China's influence in the global UAV industry.
At this conference, nearly 500 domestic and foreign companies showcased over 4,000 new UAV systems, with an indoor exhibition area of 35,000 square meters and an outdoor exhibition area (at Talent Park) of 30,000 square meters, featuring over 16 UAV competitions and performances.
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Multi-scenario Applications
Agricultural drones can complete tasks like sowing in hilly terrains
UAVs are widely used in various industries such as emergency rescue, logistics, with significant growth potential. To better develop the low-altitude economy, it is necessary to promote low-altitude openness and the construction of urban low-altitude sky roads. The low-altitude economy integrates aircraft with various industrial forms, providing new momentum for national economic development, potentially forming a trillion-level industry cluster.
At the 8th World UAV Conference, United Aircraft's two large unmanned helicopters, TD550 and TD220, have attracted considerable attention since their public debut. The TD550, with outstanding performance and versatile mounting options, achieves true "one machine, multiple capabilities," bringing unprecedented efficiency and flexibility to the field of firefighting and rescue. The TD550 unmanned helicopter, equipped with fire extinguishing bombs, water hoses, and efficient firefighting agents, can quickly respond to urban high-rise and forest fires, rapidly control the blaze, and effectively reduce casualties and losses.
Additionally, United Aircraft showcased its brand-new Q100 agricultural drone for the first time at the exhibition, designed for agricultural seeding, fertilizing, plant protection, crop pollination, and other purposes. With a payload capacity of 50 kilograms and a flow rate of 20 liters per minute, the Q100 drone enables efficient plant protection operations. With capabilities like autonomous route planning, obstacle avoidance, and terrain-following, the Q100 drone can easily navigate through southern hills and mountains, safeguarding tropical crops like dragon fruit and banana plantations. When paired with a vehicle-mounted platform, it can even efficiently operate with one person per vehicle, effortlessly completing plant protection tasks. The quadcopter drone platform "Ray Shadow" Q20 displayed at the booth has become a star product of discussion and consultation among on-site audiences due to its "small size, big energy." The Q20 can achieve 3D modeling, obstacle avoidance, intelligent recognition, and path planning in complex environments. With a maximum endurance of 73 minutes and a maximum payload of 10kg with various mounting options, it has unparalleled advantages in scenarios such as inspection, monitoring, mapping, and evacuation, and has been widely used in industries such as power, fire protection, customs, agriculture, and forestry.
Low Altitude Safety
Intelligent connection of various systems for low-altitude operations to provide digital services in low-altitude airspace.
As a familiar face at drone conferences for eight consecutive years, Puzhou Technology has introduced several new products this year. The company's representative told reporters from Nandu Bay Finance and Economics that Puzhou Technology has launched the lightweight quadcopter drone S200 series, as well as the K02 small automatic battery exchange station and K03 lightweight automatic charging station, providing industry users with high-frequency, high-empowerment, and high-security new productivity tools.
The booth of Shenzhen Daotong Intelligent Aviation Technology Co., Ltd. also attracted many onlookers. The company's representative, in an interview with reporters from Nandu Bay Finance and Economics, mentioned that they showcased two types of products at the drone exhibition: multi-rotor drones and tilt-rotor fixed-wing drones, mainly used in public safety and power inspection. The industry may evolve from "cargo-carrying" to "passenger-carrying," continuously expanding the application scenarios of drones.
With the rapid increase in unmanned aerial vehicles, ensuring safety in low-altitude airspace has become a crucial issue for sustaining the healthy development of this emerging industry.
Puzhou Technology's representative explained that in terms of low-altitude safety, the company mainly uses national-level encryption algorithms to ensure data security, secure transmission links, and 100% compliance with national security standards, providing users with comprehensive security protection. In addition to algorithm support, companies maintain low-altitude safety through self-developed systems. The representative of Jienengke Intelligent Security Technology (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. introduced that the company independently developed four core systems: a city-level low-altitude safety supervision platform, a key area (unit) low-altitude safety supervision platform, a large-scale event low-altitude safety supervision platform, and the Qiyun low-altitude service management platform. The Qiyun low-altitude service management platform is dedicated to enhancing public services and safety capabilities in low-altitude airspace by intelligently connecting various systems for low-altitude operations, providing technical services for low-altitude airspace.
eVTOL Commercial Operation
Urban air traffic is one of the key future deployment scenarios.
Furthermore, eVTOL has emerged as a new star in the future development of low-altitude economy, rapidly advancing towards commercialization. The joint issuance of the "General Aviation Equipment Innovation Application Implementation Plan (2024-2030)" by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments mentions that by 2030, general aviation equipment will be fully integrated into various aspects of people's production and life, becoming a powerful driving force for low-altitude economic growth and forming a trillion-dollar market scale.
Currently, highly developed railway and civil aviation systems have essentially met the long-distance transportation needs between cities. However, within cities, between urban and rural areas, or intercity, people desire safer, more efficient, convenient, and environmentally friendly transportation methods. As an emerging mode of transportation, eVTOL is expected to rapidly advance the commercialization of air traffic. Alongside the gradual improvement of domestic air traffic management systems and airworthiness regulations, a group of eVTOL companies in China has risen rapidly. Dozens of eVTOL products from companies such as EHang, Xiaopeng, Fengfei, Wofei, Shide, Zhihang, Wolant, and Zero Gravity have been unveiled and test-flown, with broad application prospects not only in integrating with ground transportation systems but also in various fields such as emergency rescue.
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is one of the key future deployment scenarios for eVTOL, and China is poised to be the world's largest urban air traffic market. It is estimated that by 2040, the Chinese market will account for 20%-25% of the global eVTOL market size. With the continuous advancement of China's new urbanization construction, the demand for travel efficiency and experience is increasing. eVTOL will play a significant role in addressing urban traffic congestion, reducing travel time, and more. Additionally, eVTOL has broad application prospects in emergency rescue, medical assistance, and logistics transportation. According to relevant agencies, the global eVTOL market size is projected to reach $619 billion by 2026 and a staggering $1.5 trillion by 2040.
The drone logistics model is maturing, and courier companies are increasingly utilizing drone transportation. By 2040, drone deliveries may account for 30% of the daily parcel delivery volume. According to the Shenzhen UAV Industry Association, the domestic market size of drones is expected to exceed 200 billion yuan by 2024, with the drone market size in the express logistics sector reaching approximately 30 billion yuan.
Reported by: Nandu Bay Finance and Economics Journalists Yan Zhaoxin, Nandu Journalist Pan Yingyu
Intern Yan Peng, Interviewee Li Xingrui - Photo provided by the interviewee
