Believed to be the future of low-altitude flying, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft catch the greatest attention at the 2026 International Advanced Air Mobility Expo being held in Shanghai.
Running from Wednesday to Saturday, the event has attracted nearly 500 exhibitors with over 200 aircraft that have different designs and technological breakthroughs.
Companies are working to make airborne systems smarter. For example, the detect-and-avoid system developed by Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC)'s Aeronautics Computing Technology Research Institute is made for complex city environments.
"First, the system detects any abnormal obstacles that intrude upon the flight path. Second, it identifies their types and predicts their paths. Third, it generates an obstacle-avoidance strategy and dynamic route re-planning, guiding the aircraft to safely avoid obstacles," said Feng Wei, deputy head of the General Aviation Department with AVIC's Aeronautics Computing Technology Research Institute.
At a low-altitude aircraft-related forum held a day before the opening of the expo, experts gave high ratings to the current aircraft technology.
"The technology roadmap for low-altitude aircraft development is now largely complete, with some key technologies already mastered. We are now capable of producing aircraft that can meet the needs of certain application scenarios," said Guo Bozhi, chief expert on low-altitude technology with the Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
But Guo also mentioned that for now, a huge gap still exists between aircraft manufacturing and the wide-ranging demands of real-world applications. For example, manned eVTOLs are now mostly used within the city for pilot flights.
Some enterprises at the expo are working on aircraft for longer flights. The newest aircraft of EHang, the first company to get China's passenger drone production certificate, are designed to travel between cities.
"So, here's a glimpse of what the future holds. If you take a flight to the airport, you could then transfer to a small eVTOL like the EH216 to reach your final destination within the city. But if you arrive at a high-speed rail station and need to travel to a nearby city in a longer distance, you could switch to a medium-range aircraft, such as the VT35. With these two types of aircraft working together, we can build a complete ecosystem for manned low-altitude transportation," said He Tianxing, vice president of EHang.
Latest technologies on eVTOLs showcased at 2026 International Advanced Air Mobility Expo
