In recent years, the rapid development of cutting-edge technologies such as autonomous driving, drones, and intelligent logistics has given rise to an urgent demand for high-precision navigation and positioning technology. The traditional Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) provides a wide range of positioning services worldwide, but in high-density urban environments and complex scenes, it faces increasingly prominent issues of signal occlusion and accuracy. At the same time, hardware in the loop (HiL) technology, as a key tool to integrate virtual and reality, plays an increasingly important role in the research and development of aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and autonomous vehicle.
The HiL system can not only simulate complex real-world environments, but also comprehensively test hardware systems through virtual scenes, significantly improving product development efficiency and reliability. The rise of low altitude economy has further intensified the demand for precise positioning and reliable navigation technology, especially in the fields of urban air traffic and drone logistics, where these two technologies play a particularly important role.
Overview and Demand Background of Low Altitude Economy
1.1 Concept of Low Altitude Economy
Low altitude economy refers to the comprehensive economic form of various flight activities and related industries conducted in low altitude airspace (usually below 1000 meters). It involves multiple aspects such as aircraft manufacturing, infrastructure construction, operational services, and support services. The main application scenarios of low altitude economy include logistics transportation, urban air traffic (UAM), sightseeing tourism, and emergency rescue. In recent years, the low altitude economy has received policy support and has gradually become an important component of the modern economic system with the development of drones and electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOL).
1.2 Market size and development potential
According to data, the size of China's low altitude economy market is expected to exceed one trillion yuan by 2026 and reach 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035. This huge market size brings enormous opportunities for high-precision navigation and positioning technology. In such a vast market environment, the widespread application of technology carriers such as eVTOL and drones will greatly rely on precise positioning and navigation technology to ensure flight safety, efficiency, and economy.
1.3 Challenges in the demand for positioning and navigation technology
In the low altitude economy, aircraft need to perform precise flight in complex air environments, which poses a severe technical challenge to navigation systems. There are dense high-rise buildings, electromagnetic interference, and frequent aircraft operations in urban airspace, and traditional GNSS may experience signal multipath effects and occlusion problems in such environments. Therefore, it is urgent to innovate the existing GNSS systems and introduce advanced technologies such as ground-based augmentation systems (SBAS) and multi-sensor fusion to ensure navigation accuracy and reliability.
