Innovation pushing low-altitude aircraft to new heights in China

He believes eVTOLs are more likely to be used for business travel in the early stages as they can significantly reduce travel time, and after the industry matures, the cost will be significantly reduced to a range that is affordable for ordinary people.

"The cost of taking an air taxi may be two to three times that of ground transportation, but the travel efficiency can be up to five times," he said.

He mentioned that due to the shortage of emergency helicopters in China, people's first response to sudden illness or injury is to call for an ambulance. In the future, eVTOLs are expected to play a crucial role in this area.

The eVTOLs can also provide fast connections between scenic spots in areas with complex terrain, thereby changing people's travel habits and improving their tourism experiences, he added.

Xu Huawei, public relations director of Sichuan Tengden Sci-tech Innovation Co Ltd, said the application of unmanned aerial vehicles in artificial weather modification is booming as extreme weather conditions have become more frequent in recent years.

The company has signed cooperation agreements with several provinces and autonomous regions to conduct experimental flights and normalized operations for weather modification, he said.

For example, Xu said, his company launched a pilot project for artificial snowmaking in the Xizang autonomous region in October last year to slow down glacier melting and preserve the local ecological environment.

The emerging large-scale unmanned cargo aircraft with high intelligence will also further improve China's logistics efficiency and reduce costs, he said.