Research Centre for Low Altitude Economy
Low-altitude transportation and logistics (LATL) involve using low-altitude aircraft like electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, helicopters, and small drones to transport people and deliver packages below 1,000 meters in the airspace. The Greater Bay Area (GBA) governments have been promoting LATL, leading to rapid growth in related industries and technologies. LATL is expected to be widely used in the near future as a significant part of the low-altitude economy (LAE), a trillion-dollar industry.
The Research Centre for Low Altitude Economy (RCLAE) will focus on two key areas: infrastructure deployment and low-altitude airspace operation, and the development of intelligent perception and control technologies. The first area aims to design and manage low-altitude airspace effectively, ensuring safe and efficient usage. The second area focuses on developing advanced technologies that ensure aircraft can fly securely in low-altitude airspace, even in challenging situations.
RCLAE's establishment is crucial for regional, national, and global development. In Hong Kong and the GBA, it will drive economic growth, improve mobility, trade, and logistics. By strengthening Hong Kong's position as a trade and shipping hub, RCLAE will boost cargo throughput and enable smoother travel for people, benefiting sectors like aviation, tourism, retail, and logistics. Globally, RCLAE will pioneer innovations in low-altitude airspace management and intelligent control systems, setting new standards for safety, efficiency, and sustainability in urban air mobility. This will lead to improved urban transportation, reduced congestion, and enhanced emergency response capabilities. Additionally, RCLAE's research will have far-reaching impacts on the global economy, fostering international collaboration and advancing the aviation and logistics fields as a whole.
LAE represents a comprehensive economic form that encompasses a wide range of low-altitude flight activities below 1,000 meters, fostering integration and advancement across related fields. This strategically emerging sector boasts an extensive industrial chain, encompassing aircraft research and development, manufacturing, flight infrastructure construction and operation, as well as low-altitude flight services. Its applications span diverse scenarios, including low-altitude logistics, agriculture, inspections, and flight services. CCTV News has forecasted that by 2025, LAE's comprehensive contribution value to the national economy in China could soar to an impressive 3-5 trillion yuan.
The Greater Bay Area (GBA) is a thriving region in China, known for its strong technology clusters. Recognizing the immense potential for growth and innovation, the Government of Guangdong Province has issued the "Guangdong Province Action Plan for Promoting High-quality Development of Low-altitude Economy (2024-2026)", to develop the Low Altitude Economy (LAE) in the region.
As an international business hub in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, with the support of the GBA, has a unique opportunity to seize the valuable development prospects of LAE and actively integrate into the construction and growth of LAE within the GBA. LATL has the potential to attract additional demands for goods and passenger transportation, fuelling economic growth across various industries in Hong Kong, including tourism, catering, retail, as well as the air and maritime transport sectors.
RCLAE will leverage Hong Kong's status as an international hub for aviation and maritime transportation to facilitate the seamless transfer of goods and passengers between other GBA cities and regions worldwide. It aims to investigate key technologies that support the development of Low Altitude Transportation and Logistics (LATL) in Hong Kong. The goal is to efficiently utilize low-altitude airspace while ensuring the safety of flight activities. Specifically, RCLAE plans to address the key challenges that hinder the large-scale implementation of goods and passenger transportation in the low-altitude airspace.
RCLAE aims to pioneer the transformation of low-altitude transportation and logistics, creating a future where the efficient and safe use of low-altitude airspace seamlessly connects people, goods, and regions. The primary goal of RCLAE is to develop and implement LATL solutions using advanced aircraft technology and innovative low-altitude airspace management approaches.
The RCLAE is striving for achieving the following major objectives:
- Develop technologies for safe and efficient low-altitude transportation.
- Address challenges hindering widespread implementation of low-altitude transportation.
- Establish global leadership in LATL research and development.
Team Members of the Research Centre for Low Altitude Economy
| Name | Role | Department |
| Prof. Chih-yung WEN | Interim Project Coordinator | AAE |
| Prof. Wu CHEN | Co-Principal Investigator | LSGI |
| Prof. Xiaowen FU | Co-Principal Investigator | ISE |
| Prof. Andy C. L. YEUNG | Co-Principal Investigator | LMS |
| Prof. Hans WANG |
Co-Principal Investigator |
LMS |
| Dr Wei LIU |
Co-Principal Investigator |
AAE |
| Dr Dong YANG |
Co-Principal Investigator |
LMS |
| Dr Changmin JIANG |
Co-Principal Investigator | LMS |
| Dr Sarah WAN | Co-Principal Investigator | LMS |
| Dr Hailong HUANG | Co-Principal Investigator | AAE |
| Dr Ang LI | Co-Principal Investigator | AAE |
| Dr Fan LI | Co-Principal Investigator | AAE |
| Dr Kam Hung NG | Co-Principal Investigator | AAE |
| Dr Bing WANG | Co-Principal Investigator | AAE |
| Dr Weisong WEN | Co-Principal Investigator | AAE |
| Dr Lingxiao WU | Co-Principal Investigator | AAE |
| Dr Gangyan XU | Co-Principal Investigator | AAE |
The organisational structure of RCLAE
Advisory Committee
The major research topics are as follows:
1. Infrastructure planning
- Create and develop Infrastructure required
- Formulate and establish regulations development
- Plan and organize Infrastructure network
2. Low altitude airspace design
- Design the effective separation of low altitude airspace for efficient usage
3. Operation design
- Develop novel and effective methods for solving
- aerial vehicle routing and scheduling problem in LATL operations
- multimodal synchronization problem in LATL operations
4. Reliable perception approach
- Seek to significantly advance autonomous aircraft capabilities in navigating and understanding complex urban environments
5. Robust control technology
- Enhance stability and navigation accuracy during windy conditions
- Improve resistance and operational capability in rainy environments
6. Safe flight in an emergency
- Investigate safe flight approaches in an emergency
- Backup positioning
- Safety on power system
- Safety on fault-tolerant control
- Safety on auxiliary measures, e.g. Parachutes recovery systems, Urban maintenance shed, Geofence
Available facilities - UAV
VICON - indoor motion capture system.
Experimental devices
Software Applications:
- GNSS Simulator Software
Name: Satgen
Company: Labsat
Description: Satgen is a software that can be used to test GNSS application in simulate environment. Visually plan routes, set waypoints, and configure GNSS simulations.
- GNSS/INS Post-processing Software
Name: Inertial Explorer
Company: Novatel
Description: Inertial Explorer (IE) could process and output a truth trajectory with the position, velocity and attitude accuracy your application requires. The tightly coupled integration of GNSS and inertial data delivers precise results, even when using lower-grade inertial sensors.
Establishing RCLAE will have a significantly influence economic growth, smart city development, and urban mobility. By fostering new business opportunities and enhancing infrastructure efficiency, it aims to improve the overall quality of life. The integration of intelligent transportation systems and sustainable transport modes will facilitate seamless connectivity, reduce traffic congestion, and transform the urban landscape in a forward-looking way.
RCLAE will focus on social and economic innovation. The research outcomes of low-altitude transportation and logistics (LATL) can be applied in specific scenarios in remote areas in Hong Kong. Members will collaborate with the Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation (JCDISI) to conduct applications such as using drones to deliver medicine to elderly individuals who lives in remote areas. This serves as a cost-efficient and time-efficient solution to minimize the challenges in traveling that these elderly face. Competitions centered on social and economic innovation related to LAE could be also be organized to engage students to devolve themselves in research. Applying the results raising from RCLAE to real applications will bring significant social and economic impact by enhancing access to healthcare for underserved communities.
