Text/Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Li Huankun
Photo/Courtesy of the organizer
Recently, the Civil Aviation Administration of China officially issued the "Special Conditions for EHang EH216-S Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System" as the basis for the approval of the qualification of EHang EH216-S model of EHang Intelligent (EH.US) autonomous vehicle. It is reported that this is the world's first unmanned aerial vehicle system model qualification certification project special conditions.
As a company rooted in Guangzhou, the development of its autonomous vehicles in commercial passenger operation reflects the great potential of urban air traffic (UAM) in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
On February 24th, Julongwan Exhibition Center in Baietan, Liwan District, Guangzhou held the "Transnational Think Tank Forum: Opportunities and Challenges of UAM Urban Air Traffic in the Greater Bay Area", inviting industry experts at home and abroad to discuss and think about the air traffic situation in global cities, the air traffic overview of the Greater Bay Area and the application of flying cars.
Air traffic is an important part of the city's three-dimensional transportation network
Urban Air Mobility (Urban Air Mobility) refers to the transportation mode based on regional urban agglomerations and urban areas, using helicopters and autonomous vehicles as transportation, serving short-distance three-dimensional travel, cargo transportation, and low-altitude flights.
In fact, in recent years, urban air traffic has gradually entered the public vision from a science fiction word, such as helicopters to achieve aviation rescue, business travel, autonomous aircraft to achieve express delivery and so on.
In the "National Comprehensive Three-dimensional Transportation Network Planning Outline" issued on February 24 last year, it is mentioned that from 2021 to 2035, promote the integrated development of transportation within urban agglomerations, develop urban helicopter transport services, and build a rapid air traffic network within urban agglomerations. Population growth and urbanization increase congestion in cities to some extent and the need for increased transportation capacity, and air mobility will open up the third dimension of cities. Zhang Lianyu, deputy general manager of Shenzhen Eastern General Aviation, believes that compared with subways and light railways, urban air traffic only has the purchase of aircraft and the construction of take-off and landing sites in infrastructure investment, and the input cost is low.
Urban air traffic is not only an important part of the three-dimensional transportation network, but also has a significant impact on the regional economy. "PwC has made a prediction for the UK market that urban air mobility will have a 2% impact on GDP, which is a very large proportion, and will add up to 628,000 jobs." Fadi Ghourani, Vice President of Business Development at The Flight Corp, was introduced at the meeting.
The prospects for urban air traffic in the Greater Bay Area are broad
Experts attending the meeting generally believe that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has been at the forefront of the country in the development of urban air traffic, and has broad prospects. "On the one hand, the state's support for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in terms of policy is very high; on the other hand, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have strong scientific and technological innovation capabilities and high acceptance of new things by citizens. All these have made it possible for the rapid development of urban air traffic in the Greater Bay Area. Zhang Lianyu said.
According to reports, at present, Eastern General Aviation has more than 80 fixed take-off and landing aprons in the Greater Bay Area, of which Shenzhen and Guangzhou account for the largest proportion, and also obtained China's No. 001 Guangdong-Hong Kong Flight Permit License, which can provide convenient travel services for various business needs. "For example, Huawei now has almost daily flight volume, and these scenarios will not be available before 2020, which shows that even if affected by the epidemic, the development of urban air traffic in the Greater Bay Area in the past two years is still very rapid." Zhang Lianyu added that with the addition of autonomous aircraft, the price of passengers and freight will be greatly reduced, and the number of flights will increase exponentially. "For example, the price of a helicopter flying from Guangzhou to Shenzhen is about 20,000-30,000 yuan, and if it is an autonomous aircraft, the price is expected to be below 1,000 yuan."
Different from the development of helicopters and autonomous vehicles in the east, Guangzhou Xiaopeng Huitian combines cars with aircraft to create flying cars for individual users, and the sixth generation of flying cars has been launched.
Policy and technology boundaries have yet to be resolved
Qiu Mingquan, general manager of brand marketing of Xiaopeng Huitian, believes that although the development prospects of urban air traffic in the Greater Bay Area are broad, they are still subject to certain border constraints. "The first is the technical boundary, where autonomous vehicles are subject to power and weight to fly faster and farther, which requires battery system support that is both safe and lightweight." He said, "The second is the policy boundary, the previous is whether it can change from the state of research and development to the product, here is whether it can be changed from a product to a commodity, and the policy's control of airspace flight is closely related to the development of this industry." ”
Zhang Lianyu believes that low-altitude travel, as a basic mode of travel in the future, suggests that the construction of take-off and landing points can be included in infrastructure construction. "The problem with low-altitude flight now is that the take-off and landing points are still insufficient compared to demand. If we can build a bus station like building, in urban office buildings or places where residents are more concentrated, the construction of one or two take-off and landing points will greatly benefit the development of urban air traffic. Fadi suggested that in order for urban air traffic to flourish, it is necessary for the government, enterprises and other parties to participate, while vigorously developing digital technologies to support urban air traffic.
According to the relevant person in charge of Pearl River Production and Investment, as the first event of urban air traffic held by the Urban Land Society and Pearl River Production and Investment in the Greater Bay Area, this forum provides ideas for the future entry of cities in the Greater Bay Area into the field of air traffic operation, "I hope that the forum can help the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to build an innovative urban agglomeration, and also provide a reference for the Julong bay project to explore the design and construction of a technology-based and future-oriented urban transportation landscape, providing more possibilities for the development of new cities." (For more news, please pay attention to Yangcheng Pie pai.ycwb.com)
Source | Yangcheng Evening News Yangcheng Pie
Editor-in-charge | Chen Qian