The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on Friday issued the first batch of certificates for autonomous passenger drone operation to two Chinese companies, marking China's entry into the commercial operation stage of autonomous passenger drones.
The two certificates were granted to Chinese drone makers EHang Holdings Limited in south China's Guangdong Province and Hefei Hey Airlines Co., Ltd. in east China's Anhui Province.
The operation certificate is used to confirm that the autonomous passenger drone service meets the safety operation standards and operation requirements. The companies with an operation certificate can carry out commercial operations in approved areas, provide paid passenger services and other low-altitude economy-related services.
With the operation certificate, consumers will be able to purchase tickets at operating spots in Guangzhou and Hefei to experience low-altitude tours, city sightseeing and a variety of commercial passenger transport services.
China issues first batch of passenger drone operation certificates
By leveraging the Shanghai Science and Technology Film City, Shanghai is forging a full-chain AI film ecosystem that covers computing power, data, models, and application scenarios, thus driving the integrated development of "film plus technology."
At a workshop during this year's Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), staff showed how a green screen and virtual studio can create a video of someone flying on a sword in only 10 minutes, a process that once took hours or even days.
"Our new AI workflow can bypass the tedious process of creating 3D assets. We only need a simple white model to position the actor within the scene. Then, AI takes care of everything, including integration of lights and shadows, computer-generated visual effects, and traditional manual production, dramatically improving efficiency," said Wang Yi, marketing director of a Shanghai-based virtual production technology company.
Technological innovation, continuous upgrades, and the pursuit of quality have become industry standards for filmmakers and television producers.
"What we're working on now is using a full AI workflow to adapt a classic black-and-white movie into a short drama series of 60 episodes, each about two to three minutes long. With the rapid improvement of large language model capabilities, on the production side, we can complete a short drama project of over 100 minutes in just about two months," said Yu Xin, a person in charge of a company based at the Shanghai Science and Technology Film City AI Creation Ecosystem Center.
Located in Songjiang District, the Shanghai Science and Technology Film City houses over 8,000 film and TV enterprises, forming a full-chain AI ecosystem that covers computing power, data, models, and application scenarios.
"The AI Creation Ecosystem Center has attracted more than 50 companies over the past year and secured over 50 million yuan in commercial commissions. Moving forward, we will provide support not only in terms of computing power and funding but also through talent-related policies," said Zhao Huiying, director of the Songjiang District Culture and Tourism Bureau.
Shanghai drives 'film plus technology' with AI ecosystem
