More than 300,000 plant-protection drones now perform roughly 203 million hectare-treatments annually in China. The market has moved beyond adoption into service, maintenance, renewal and operating standards.
Agricultural spray drones are no longer an emerging technology in China. They are ordinary farm machinery at extraordinary scale. China entered 2026 with about 309,000 plant-protection drones, and those aircraft performed roughly 203 million hectare-treatments during 2025. A hectare treated three times counts as three hectare-treatments, so that figure measures … [continued]
For years, venture capitalists and tech bros have burned through billions of dollars promising us flying electric cars. We have all seen the slick CGI videos of battery-powered air taxis whisking executives over gridlocked highway traffic. Yet, while Silicon Valley was busy chasing vaporware, a quiet electric aviation revolution actually … [continued]
SolarAnywhere® is often associated with utility-scale or distributed PV, but our solar irradiance data powers a lot more than solar plants. A great example: Piotr Lichota at the Warsaw University of Technology is using SolarAnywhere to figure out when to launch solar-assisted Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and how long they can realistically stay … [continued]
The most interesting person in the first commercial eVTOL launch may not be the pilot, the regulator, the mayor at the ribbon cutting, or the executive standing beside the aircraft. It may be the underwriter. The aircraft may have completed its test program. The regulator may have signed off. The … [continued]
The US drone manufacturer Heven Aerotech has earned a streamlined contract with the US Army for its hydrogen fuel cell UAV and associated hydrogen systems (cropped, courtesy of Heven).
The US drone manufacturer Heven Aerotech has earned a streamlined contract with the US Army for its hydrogen fuel cell UAV and associated hydrogen systems.
A few years ago, it dawned on me that clean, electric-powered aviation isn’t part of some far off solarpunk future. While we’re not going to see electric passenger jets or medical helicopters this year, there are already electric aircraft replacing ICE aircraft almost everywhere. Aerial photography, surveying, search and rescue, … [continued]
Often a question title has a “no” response that follows in the article body. In this case, it is “yes.” Tom Chi recently gave an impressive TED Talk about replanting mangrove trees with drones. He says four people using drones and mangrove seeds can plant over 100,000 mangrove trees in … [continued]
Google Gemini generated. Drones create economic value through lower costs, safer work, and higher productivity, and policy choices determine whether those gains are captured or lost
The recent US decision to block new certifications for Chinese drones is being framed as a narrow national security measure. In practice it is a broad economic choice with long shadows. The policy does not ground existing drones or seize equipment. It works through certification attrition, cutting off the ability … [continued]
Google Gemini generated infographic comparing China’s large scale adoption of agricultural drones and the United States’ limited uptake, highlighting differences in land use, fuel savings, chemical reductions and policy choices.
China’s rapid adoption of agricultural drones is one of the most interesting examples of technological divergence between two major food producers. The contrast is striking. Chinese pilots are now treating an amount of land with drones each year that is larger than the total farmland base, which means multiple drone … [continued]
GUANGZHOU, CHINA — At XPENG Motors’ 2025 AI Technology Day “Emergence” in Guangzhou, the company’s low-altitude mobility affiliate, XPENG Aridge (formerly known as Ariga), pulled back the curtain on what could be the future of intercity travel. The A868 Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) full-light-transition fixed-wing flying car represents more … [continued]
