Economic powerhouse Jiangsu Province in east China is amplifying application scenarios to catalyze low-altitude economy while fostering new pace-setters in pursuing high-quality development by forging new quality productive force.
The low-altitude economy is an economic concept that relies on low-altitude airspace, in which unmanned aircraft like drones, helicopters and flying cars play a dominant role. It involves economic sectors such as low-altitude flight, air tourism, passenger transportation, general aviation services, scientific research and education, among others.
The low-altitude economy has facilitated the time used to transport blood samples from the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University in Suzhou City.
In the past, these blood samples were typically transported to the testing center by ambulance, but now they are flown to the center by drone.
The low-altitude economy has shortened the time used to deliver daily supplies for sailors on deck.
At the service area by the Yangtze River, there are hundreds of ships docking daily at the downstream anchorage and wharves. To quickly provide daily supplies for the crew members on these ships, dedicated drone delivery services are now operating every day.
It took a traditional transport boat at least 25 minutes to deliver the supplies while a drone is nearly five times faster.
"In the past, we used small boats for deliveries, or customers would drive their ships to our service area, which caused much fuel-consuming. We calculated that if we didn't use drones, we would have to consume nearly 7 million more liters of fuel each year," said Zhai Haifeng, deputy general manager of Jiangsu Changjiang Hui Technology Co., Ltd.
While posting fast-track development, the management of low-altitude airspace has blazed new methods.
At the Nanjing Civil Unmanned Aviation Operation Management Center, a large screen displays the dispatch trajectory and status of all registered drones within the relevant airspace. These trajectories and altitudes also reflect the characteristics of different application scenarios.
"We have created a low-altitude public operating environment, which is currently the first low-altitude intelligent network in the country that integrates sensing, transmission, computation, and control. In the future, we aim to further delineate airspace scientifically and meticulously, clarify operational rules, and optimize flight routes to build a flexible and efficient low-altitude route network," said Huo Min, deputy general manager of Nanjing Pukou Science and Technology Investment Group.
Moreover, the burgeoning low-altitude economy has also spurred training demand.
At a drone pilot training school in Jiangsu, more than 30 people are receiving training in a single day. With thriving low-altitude economy, it may soon become a commonplace for individuals to possess a drone license just like a driver's license.
Jiangsu amplifies application scenarios to catalyze low-altitude economy
