2025 Agenda

As the low-altitude economy rapidly transitions from conceptual pilots to scalable regional ecosystems, particularly within East and Southeast Asia, the need for intelligent, autonomous, and interoperable operational frameworks has become increasingly urgent. This session offers a system-level exploration of technical enablers and implementation challenges associated with the next-generation low-altitude operational infrastructure, drawing directly from recent developments in airborne-ground collaborative technologies between 2023 and 2025.

Focusing on the integration of Autonomous Flight Assistance Systems (AFAS) with distributed low-altitude traffic management (UTM/PSU), the presentation will analyze key subsystems and coordination models that underpin safety and efficiency in dense, multi-vehicle airspace. These include four-dimensional trajectory-based flight orchestration, collaborative separation assurance, distributed landing sequencing, and real-time emergency response support. Particular emphasis will be placed on the “air-ground collaboration–based augmentation system,” which serves as both an operational safeguard and an autonomy enabler, capable of functioning under minimal ground infrastructure by leveraging edge-side onboard intelligence.

The discussion will address core technical bottlenecks identified through system prototyping and simulation, including decision consistency across air and ground nodes, latency-sensitive vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, and conflict resolution in highly dynamic, mixed-coordination environments. Also discussed are multi-modal threat sensing, sensor fusion for uncooperative target detection, and scalable AI-based algorithms for embedded trajectory scheduling and airspace intent deconfliction.

Beyond technical challenges, the session will also consider system-level integration under evolving policy frameworks—such as those seen in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area—where operational safety must coexist with commercial viability and interjurisdictional interoperability. Insights will be drawn from high-density use cases including aerial logistics, emergency rescue, and urban inspection missions, with a view toward informing future airworthiness criteria, autonomy certification pathways, and collaborative ATFM strategy development.