An Insky drone performs a condition assessment of Ping An Finance Center, Shenzhen's tallest building, Saturday. Photos by Lu Ying
Shenzhen, with a complete drone supply chain and committed to advancing new economic sectors, is actively exploring new application scenarios for drone flights, as reported by the Shenzhen Evening News.
A drone developed by Insky, a Shanghai-based drone service provider, followed a predetermined path around the top of the Ping An Finance Center, Shenzhen's tallest building, to conduct a condition assessment of the skyscraper Saturday.
This building assessment included checking the facade for any damage or potential upkeep requirements. These inspections are important for ensuring high-rise buildings are safe — if an element becomes loose or falls, it could pose a danger to people nearby.
Saturday's inspection was the first time drones were used for such a purpose in the city. Smart drones can shuttle between high-rise buildings to carry out such inspections, which cost less and are more efficient than traditional practices, according to Insky’s Founder and Chief Executive Shi Wei.
Previously, such checkups were performed by humans lowered by cables from the tops of the buildings. The job was not only dangerous but might not be done perfectly, due to the inspectors' restricted sight if the building had an irregular shape.
The company uses a drone carrying a camera to collect high-resolution georeferenced imagery. The drone flight can cover the entirety of the building and ensure enough overlap between images so the drone software could process an accurate 3D model.
As of the end of last year, Insky's smart drones had completed inspections of over 10 million square meters of urban high-rise building facades in China. The company's drones have also served to inspect the wind turbines of Hubei-based Fenghua, a company dealing in the energy sector, according to the company's website.
A drone developed by the Shanghai-based Insky conducts a condition assessment of the Ping An Finance Center on Saturday.
Shenzhen has a robust demand for high-rise drone inspection services because it has more than 20 buildings taller than 300 meters and over 200 taller than 200 meters, Shi was quoted by yicai.com as saying.
Shenzhen is already using drones for such application scenarios as food and parcel delivery, and test flights for intercity transportation. Drones can be used in the transportation of time-sensitive, high-value goods, such as emergency supplies, gold, jewelry, and fresh food; they also have a wide application in high-risk operational scenarios such as firefighting.
Shenzhen has opened 205 drone routes, with over 860,000 cargo-carrying drone flights completed since last year, according to data from Shenzhen’s transport bureau.
After 20 years of development, Shenzhen has formed a complete drone supply chain integrating research and development, manufacturing, application, and services, with consumer- and industrial-grade drones made in the city accounting for 70% and 50% of the global market share, respectively.
Low-altitude economy, a buzzword among city officials and industry leaders, is defined by economists as a range of business activities occurring within airspace up to 1,000 meters above ground.
The output value of Shenzhen's low-altitude economy exceeded 90 billion yuan (US$12.4 billion) last year, according to official data. Shenzhen plans to have more than 220 drone routes in operation within the city by next year, with more than 1,700 drone-related companies turning up an output value of 100 billion yuan.