Photo via Xinhua

Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, are rising rapidly in popularity in China with the development of artificial intelligence and big data, which are now widely used in aerial photography, disaster relief assistance, express delivery services, art performances, and other uses due to their multitude of uses and rapid response times.

Aerial photography is currently the field where civil drones are most commonly used. Some 42.8% of the domestic mainstream civil drone manufacturers are professional manufacturers engaged in aerial photography. With high-definition cameras and programmable flight routes, one can capture a variety of unique and beautiful sceneries.

In 2017, drones used in the forestry field reached 12,000 in China, which greatly facilitated the protection of agricultural crops and forests. Drones have the advantages of high-work efficiency, all-terrain adaption, and energy-saving. Drones can realize low-altitude, low-volume applications, such as spraying chemicals, seeds, or powders.

At the same time, drones have demonstrated promise in agriculture, forestry, plant protection, power and oil pipeline inspections, emergency communications, meteorological surveillance, marine watermark monitoring, and mineral exploration.

Due to the maturity of the industrial chain and the development of drone technology, China has elevated from pure manufacturer to independent player in research and development, and is now standing at the forefront of the civil drones industry.

In the first three quarters of 2017, China’s drone exports reached $8.05 billion, an increase of 96.4% over the same period in 2016, customs data showed.

As of December 31, 2017, the production of domestic civil drones in China reached 2.9 million, and the types of drones keeps expanding, from multi-rotor drones and fixed-wing drones to airship ones, according to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.