On April 27, the 2024 International UAV Application and Prevention and Control Conference and UAV Industry Expo opened in Beijing. Nandu reporters walked into the exhibition hall and saw all kinds of drones on display, full of science and technology, and a sense of coolness.
Nandu reporters learned from the expo site that at present, UAVs have been applied to a variety of scenarios, covering national defense, emergency fire protection, water conservancy, forestry and grassland, electric power, oil and gas, civil services and other fields. By the end of 2023, there will be nearly 20,000 drone companies in the industry, and there will be 1.267 million real-name registered drones.
Nandu reporters paid attention to the fact that with the continuous development of UAV application scenarios, safety prevention and control and other issues have become increasingly prominent, which has brought challenges to the further development of the low-altitude economy. The expo invited many industry experts to discuss issues related to drones and low-altitude economy.
The site of the exposition. Photo courtesy of the organizer
UAVs are used in nearly 300 civilian subdivision scenarios and are still expanding
The application scenarios of drones in the mainland are far more than the fields introduced by Lin Kai. It is understood that at present, the more common UAV application scenarios include military, emergency, civilian services, etc. In the field of civil services alone, UAVs have covered more than 20 major industries and nearly 300 subdivided application scenarios, and are still expanding.
In terms of military applications, Chen Zhijie, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said at the opening of the expo that in the recent wars abroad, the role of UAVs has attracted great attention from all walks of life around the world. In the military field, UAVs, with their high efficiency and flexibility, also provide important strategic support for our national defense.
In terms of emergency application, the reporter learned that for natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and heavy rains, as well as accidents and disasters such as mining disasters and oil and gas explosions, at present, UAVs are used in disaster preparedness, disaster acquisition, disaster macro judgment and command, rescue and disposal, disaster resettlement, recovery and reconstruction.
"UAVs can play a good role in emergency response, but this also fully tests the load of UAVs, such as endurance, wind resistance level, load situation, whether it can cope with dark nights, through fog, etc. Qu Guosheng, director of the Science and Technology Committee of the China Earthquake Emergency Search and Rescue Center, said at the opening ceremony.
For the application of drones in the field of civilian services, many consumers are impressed by drone delivery: consumers place orders on the takeaway platform, and according to the order requirements, the courier brother takes out coffee, tea, and lunch from the restaurant and packs them to the drone landing field (the roof of the core shopping mall in Shenzhen), and then the drone shuttles between the high-rise buildings to deliver the takeaway to the designated location.
Nandu reporters paid attention to the fact that a takeaway platform also developed a drone home rapid inspection project at the beginning of this year, that is, the test samples of consumers are sent to testing institutions through drones to quickly obtain test results. It is understood that there is a testing center in Guangzhou located on the biological island, surrounded by the Pearl River, if the courier brother wants to send the consumer's test samples to the biological island, can only be through ferries, highways, etc., which greatly slows down the detection speed, if you choose a drone, the same day to send the test results on the same day.
The site of the exposition. Photo courtesy of the organizer
UAVs are the "main force" in the low-altitude economy, and they must gradually move towards the C-end
Nandu reporters paid attention to the fact that many experts believe that UAVs are the "main force" of the low-altitude economy.
According to Lv Yueguang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, in recent years, the mainland UAV industry has been in the forefront of the world in terms of market size, R&D and manufacturing capabilities, application breadth and depth, and the compound annual growth rate of the UAV industry is more than 15%. There are more than 700,000 registered UAV users, and 1.2 million UAVs have been registered, with more than 20 million flying hours per year. It is estimated that by 2024, the domestic industrial-grade UAV market will be more than 150 billion yuan.
"With the rapid increase of the UAV application market, the dominance of UAVs in the low-altitude economy is becoming more and more obvious. Lu Yueguang said.
Chen Zhijie also said at the opening ceremony that drones are the main driving force for the development of the low-altitude economy. But at present, drones are more oriented to the government side and the enterprise side.
Lin Kai, a staff member of Beijing Zowee Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., also told reporters from Nandu: "Our company's customers are mainly the government and some state-owned enterprises. ”
In this regard, Chen Zhijie believes that in order to truly form a complete economic scene in the low-altitude economy in the future, it must go to To C (consumer-oriented).
"At present, we see the application of UAVs in logistics, urban governance, inspection and repair, farmer plant protection and other scenarios, these industries are not new industries, but traditional industries have been improved through low-altitude economic empowerment, from traditional express delivery to drone logistics, from manual spraying to drone plant protection, from traditional fire extinguishing to drone fire protection, etc. Chen Zhijie said at the opening ceremony that while the industry is upgrading and transforming, we may also need to explore more application scenarios, that is, low-altitude products and more fields for deep integration, and then products and services will slowly become popular, and slowly develop to To C, in order to truly build our complete low-altitude economic system.
Xinhua photo, Zhengzhou, September 9, 2020 Anyang, Henan Province: Drones help fly low-altitude economy At the Anyang Drone Flight Center, workers debug a 5G drone ready for a test flight (photo taken on September 8). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Haoran
The development of low-altitude economy still faces many difficulties, and safety prevention and control is the key
Nandu reporters paid attention to the fact that the experts at the meeting agreed that with the rapid growth of the number of UAVs and the continuous change of the application scope, the safety hazards and challenges brought by them are becoming increasingly prominent. On the one hand, a large number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operate at low altitudes, which brings challenges to the entire low-altitude governance, and on the other hand, security incidents such as illegal intrusion and malicious attacks also bring new challenges to the national defense security, public safety, and flight safety of the whole country. Therefore, it is of great significance to strengthen the research and discussion of UAV prevention and control technology to promote the healthy development of the UAV industry and maintain national security and social stability.
There is no way to talk about a low-altitude economy without safety guarantees. Chen Zhijie bluntly said at the opening that once subversive safety issues are involved in the process of low-altitude economic development, the low-altitude economy is likely to come to an abrupt end.
In addition to safety issues, many people are also worried that when more and more drones fly into the sky, will they be able to tolerate it? Will there be traffic jams and crashes like land transportation?
In this regard, there is an analysis that low-altitude management should be combined with the ground, and digital management technology should be used to establish a low-altitude intelligent network.
The reporter from Nandu paid attention to the fact that the mainland has already practiced the integrated management of land and air. For example, the "Opinions of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, and the State Administration for Market Regulation on Supporting Guangzhou Nansha to Relax Market Access and Strengthen the Reform of the Regulatory System" issued at the end of last year mentioned that it is necessary to explore the management methods of urban transportation in the integration of air and land to create an efficient and inclusive market access environment. Study the construction of a regional unmanned system control and dispatch system, classify and demarcate low-altitude airspace and routes, and simplify the route approval process. Support participation in the construction of a unified intelligent unmanned system, the underlying data system and an open service application platform. Accelerate the pilot application and commercial operation of intelligent (networked) vehicles in multiple scenarios, promote the close connection between electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) and intelligent networked vehicles, build safety standards and management rules that are compatible with technological development, and realize the coordinated development of unmanned system industries and cross-border integration of technology.
"At present, the development of the low-altitude economy is facing various challenges, how to coordinate development and security, how to balance the supply side and the demand side, and how to coordinate the military, local and civilian populations. It is suggested that localities should not rush to the top, but should develop low-altitude economy according to local conditions. Ao Wanzhong, director of the National Low-altitude Economic Integration Innovation Research Center, suggested.
Chen Zhijie also suggested that the development of low-altitude economy cannot rely on business departments alone, and requires the government, market and technology departments to work together. The government should undertake low-altitude management, establish a departmental collaborative management mechanism, establish standards and specifications for low-altitude safe operation, and develop low-altitude operation scenarios according to local conditions. The market should optimize the industrial layout and guide mass consumption. The technical department should do a good job in low-altitude theoretical innovation, key technological breakthroughs, and the establishment of low-altitude standards.
In addition, the reporter from Nandu paid attention to the fact that the expo also set up the 2024 UAV Innovation Skills Competition, in which the contestants competed in UAV theory, assembly, commissioning, fine flight and other projects. The team leader of Huailai Technician College told the reporter from Nandu: "Our school plans to open a drone major in the future, and this competition is also to prepare for a new major." ”
Written by: Yang Wenjun, trainee reporter of Nandu, from Beijing