In recent years, the dynamics of low-altitude economy have received high attention from the market. At WAIC 2024, intelligent aircraft also became a highlight of this digital technology industry event.

It is reported that the intelligent aircraft exhibition area is one of the 'Eight Treasures' of the 2024 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, showcasing the innovative products of three eVTOL head enterprises, Yufeng Future, Shide Technology, and Fengfei Aviation Technology.

According to 'The Star Market Daily' reported earlier, the eVTOL manned aircraft Shengshilong exhibited by Fengfei Aviation Technology at WAIC this year has a design of 5 seats, a maximum range of 250 kilometers, a cruising speed of up to 200 kilometers per hour, and uses a composite wing configuration. It can take off and land vertically like a helicopter, and also cruise horizontally like a fixed-wing aircraft.

At the scene of WAIC 2024, in addition to the above-mentioned star start-ups, traditional aircraft operation and management companies also exhibited eVTOL products.

At the booth of CITIC Group, a person in charge of relevant business of CITIC Offshore Helicopter accepted an exclusive interview with 'The Star Market Daily' reporter and said that the company has been layouting in helicopter operation services and airspace management for more than 40 years. It can not only provide long-range eVTOL cross-domain flight verification, but also explore the interconnection mode of 'helicopter + eVTOL'.

According to the introduction, the company chooses the interconnection of 'helicopter + eVTOL', mainly based on considerations of resource integration, technological complementarity, and market expansion, in order to try to promote the development of urban air transportation quickly. 'This mode can fully utilize the mature system of helicopters' experience in low-altitude operation, such as infrastructure sharing, pilot training, safety management, standard setting and operation experience reference, and give play to the innovative advantages of eVTOL in the field of urban air transportation.'

AI digital technology speed up integration with future industries such as eVTOL

Currently, digital software technology such as AI and future hardware products such as eVTOL products and humanoid robots are accelerating integration and are concentratedly displayed at WAIC 2024.

It is understood that the innovation core of eVTOL products depends on real-time flight decision-making and precise operation based on AI algorithms. It can carry cargo or passengers for low-altitude flying, and will be applied in typical scenarios such as urban three-dimensional transportation, interprovincial/interregional logistics and emergency rescue.

CITIC Offshore Helicopter Business person in charge explained to 'The Star Market Daily' that the digital technology such as AI empowers the future industry of eVTOL in many aspects. It includes intelligent driving and autonomous flight, situational awareness and air traffic management, performance optimization and maintenance prediction.

Specifically, in the field of automatic driving system, AI technology can help develop automatic driving system, realize automation operation during takeoff, flight and landing of eVTOL, and reduce the demand and error rate of manual operation. AI technology can also be used to develop eVTOL automatic obstacle avoidance system, through sensors and visual recognition technology, it can detect surrounding obstacles in real time and automatically adjust the flight path to avoid these obstacles. In the application of route planning, the aircraft can use machine learning and big data technology to achieve intelligent planning of the flight path, ensure that the aircraft chooses the optimal route, and improve the operation efficiency and safety.

Using digital technology and AI, it is also possible to establish an efficient low-altitude airspace management system to ensure the safety and smoothness of aircraft flying at low altitudes. AI technology combined with radar, lidar, and visual sensors can enhance the environmental perception ability of aircraft and improve flight safety in complex weather conditions.

In addition, AI application in the eVTOL industry also includes using machine learning algorithms to predict the maintenance needs of the aircraft, detecting potential faults in advance and performing repairs, reducing downtime and maintenance costs.

'As a new type of air travel, eVTOL has huge market demand potential.' The above-mentioned person in charge of CITIC Offshore Helicopter Business said that especially in short-distance transportation, urban transportation, emergency rescue and other fields, the company is currently exploring various scenarios in which eVTOL is adapted to commercialization.

The commercialization of eVTOL still faces many challenges.

According to the 'China Low-altitude Economy Development Research Report (2024)' released by the China Electronics Information Industry Development Institute, the scale of China's eVTOL industry will reach 0.98 billion yuan in 2023, an increase of 77.30% year-on-year. The organization predicts that the eVTOL industry will usher in the first round of commercialization outbreak cycle in 2024, and the growth rate of the industry scale is expected to reach 228.20%. With the accelerated promotion of multi-model airworthiness certification, it is expected that the eVTOL industry scale will reach 9.5 billion yuan by 2026.

However, the commercialization of eVTOL still faces many challenges. According to citic offshore helicopter, among them, in terms of technology, eVTOL still needs to further optimize its flight stability, noise control, and endurance. "Especially breakthroughs in battery technology are key to the commercialization of eVTOL, and the maturity and reliability of autonomous driving technology also need to be further improved to ensure the safe flight of eVTOL in complex airspace environments."

At the same time, airworthiness certification, infrastructure construction, market acceptance, and regulations and airspace management are still the main challenges for eVTOL to enter the commercial market.

"As a new type of aircraft, eVTOL needs to obtain airworthiness certification before entering the commercial market. However, the airworthiness certification process is complex and strict, and it requires a lot of time and money. At the same time, there is no unified eVTOL airworthiness standard worldwide, which also increases the difficulty of airworthiness certification," said the citic offshore helicopter representative.

It is understood that the airworthiness certificate of the aircraft body is usually applied by the eVTOL manufacturer, and the future commercial operator also needs to further apply for the eVTOL low-altitude operation license according to industry supervision and development requirements.

Currently, major eVTOL manufacturers include EHang Intelligent Technology, Timesh Tech, ZeroG, Volante, Peak Fly Aviation Technology, Xpeng Heitech, and Yufeng Future. Many companies have submitted airworthiness certification applications.

Among them, EHang Intelligent Technology obtained the world's first eVTOL airworthiness certificate at the end of 2023; Peak Fly Technology is expected to complete airworthiness certification by 2026, and eVTOL can be put into commercial operation at that time.

Furthermore, it is necessary to have perfect infrastructure support for the commercial operation of eVTOL, including takeoff and landing sites, charging facilities, and air traffic management systems. "The construction and planning of these infrastructures require the joint efforts of governments, enterprises, and relevant departments, and require a lot of investment and time," according to citic offshore helicopter.

In addition, the above-mentioned citic offshore helicopter business representative told the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily that the commercial operation of eVTOL requires perfect regulatory support and airspace management. It is understood that eVTOL regulations worldwide are still in the exploration and improvement stage, and airspace management also needs to gradually adapt to the operational needs of eVTOL.