A new “sentry drone” system is expected to help Hong Kong’s low-altitude economy fly high, providing early alerts about navigation signal interference to ensure flight safety and reduce accidents, the transport minister has said. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan offered the upbeat assessment in a post on her weekly blog on Saturday, saying she had recently taken a look at the system, developed by local company Aerovision Technology, which has applied for a Chinese patent covering Hong Kong. The “Sentry Drone System for Early Alert of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Interference” uses innovative AI algorithms to patrol designated drone operating areas and provide warnings to operators to ensure flight safety. A GNSS is susceptible to interference such as jamming, spoofing – where malicious fake signals are transmitted to deceive a receiver – and certain solar effects, which may endanger flight safety and can lead to major accidents. “We are confident that once this system successfully ‘takes off’, it will reduce safety risks associated with drone flights, allowing us to discuss lowering drone insurance premiums with the insurance industry, ultimately benefiting the entire low-altitude economy,” Chan said. She said that the project overcame satellite navigation limitations and geographical challenges by deploying sentry drones as a vanguard for regular missions by unmanned aircraft. “While Hong Kong’s limited airspace and challenging geography – with its high peaks, deep valleys and dense skyscrapers – may pose unique challenges for the development of a low-altitude economy, successfully navigating this terrain will serve as a unique and valuable résumé for all future drone projects,” she said. “Before and during events such as drone shows, or infrastructure inspections, the system will patrol designated drone operating areas and provide early alerts of GNSS signal interference, helping users, including drone operators, government agencies and insurance companies, plan and respond in advance. “This technology is poised to elevate the low-altitude economy to a new level, moving beyond just delivery, inspection and performance.” The transport minister said she was particularly impressed to see the project’s frontline research and development (R&D) team composed of elite talent from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Pakistan and mainland China, with an average age of just 26. “In my conversations with them, I could genuinely feel their passion for scientific research and their love for Hong Kong,” she said. The team has developed and built its own equipment and base stations that connect to the sentry drones, allowing them to rely solely on their internal sensors for positioning. In each mission, three sentry drones fly in a figure of eight pattern, using triangulation to transmit signals back to the system’s server. An artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm then uses this data to identify areas where the global satellite navigation signal is being interfered with. Thirty-eight “sandbox” projects – where software or new technology can be tried out in a pilot scheme or test environment – have been selected to help gather experience and data that will enable government departments to map out and devise comprehensive infrastructure support for the execution of various low-altitude economic activities. The sandbox was launched last November to help the government in testing airspace operations and infrastructure, while also developing policies and regulatory guidelines for the industry. Bank of America said in a research report in June that the global low-altitude economy would be worth US$23 billion by 2030, with more than 30,000 flying vehicles or drones in operation. The market was expected to reach US$61 billion by 2035 and US$210 billion by 2045, the US bank added.