Accounting for over 30% of China's low-altitude economy industrial chain, Guangdong commands 95% of the national consumer drone market and 54% of the industrial drone market. The province is transforming its "airspace frontier" into a testing ground for new productive forces.

"Our electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle M1 has completed its first five-passenger flight. It will become a new mode of urban transportation," said Zhou Yuhui, head of Solutions at Zhongshan FCourier Aviation Technology Co Ltd in Guangdong Province. Similar innovations are emerging across the sector: EHang's EH216-S has obtained the world's first standard type certificate and airworthiness approval for commercial operations, while XPENG flying car is nearing mass production.

Guangdong is home to 15,000 enterprises engaged in the low-altitude economy. Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai are among the leading players, all ranking among China's top ten cities for low-altitude economic development.

Nansha District in Guangzhou has developed a full-chain ecosystem for autonomous driving. Upstream, companies such as EVAS Intelligence, Lenovo Connect, and Dasheng Technology provide the "smart brains" for autonomous vehicles. Midstream, firms like GAC Toyota, Pony.ai and Zhuifeng Intelligent Tech lead in vehicle manufacturing and systems integration. Downstream, applications are booming across scenarios including robotaxis, unmanned logistics and smart sanitation.

From the "HaiSha" underwater robot to intelligent ships and unmanned systems platforms, Guangdong's aquatic tech pioneers are straight out of science fiction. Subsea equipment developed by Guangdong Blue Divebot Marine Technology Co., Ltd. is widely used in nuclear power plants, offshore wind farms, municipal water services, environmental protection and marine exploration. In 2023, Guangdong ePropulsion Technology Limited ranked first globally in shipments of small and medium-sized electric outboard motors.

广东“无人军团”领航水陆空新赛道

拥有全国三成以上低空经济产业链，消费级无人机市场份额占全国95%，工业级无人机市场份额占全国54%……广东将“空中疆域”跑成了新质生产力的“试验场”。

“我们的M1电动垂直起降机型已实现5人载客首飞，它将成为城市交通的新载体。”广东省中山福昆科技解决方案负责人周郁辉告诉记者。类似的产业创新不断涌现：亿航智能的EH216—S获得全球首张标准适航证和企业运营合格证，小鹏汇天的飞行汽车即将量产……

在广东，低空经济相关企业有1.5万家，广州、深圳、珠海三强鼎立，均位列全国低空经济发展十强城市。

南沙区已经形成了自动驾驶全产业链生态。在上游，奕行智能、联想懂的、大圣科技等企业为自动驾驶提供“智慧大脑”；在中游，广汽丰田、小马智行、骓丰科技等企业引领整车制造与系统集成；在下游，Robotaxi、无人物流、智慧环卫等场景全面开花。

“海鲨”水下机器人、智能船舶、无人系统平台……广东这些水下“科技尖兵”的故事科幻感拉满。广东蓝潜海洋技术有限公司开发的水下装备广泛应用于核电厂、海上风电、城市水务、环境保护、海洋调查等领域；广东逸动科技有限公司去年中小型电动船外机出货量位居全球第一。

文丨记者 杭莹 莫谨榕
图丨记者 邓鼎园 刘畅
翻译丨曾敏
审校丨黄宇洁