Discussion keeps the world's turning.
This is Roundtable. Hello everybody, welcome to Roundtable.
Coming to you live from Beijing.
I'm her young. Good to have you join us on a day's show.
Imagine drones zipping through neon lit obstacle courses at tremendous speeds.
Pilots immersed in first-person view as if piloting Star Wars pod racers.
This adrenaline-fueled spectacle is drone racing.
The future of motorsports, rapidly gaining global fandom.
Are you ready for this electrifying new frontier?
And as the June 18th Shopping Festival approaches, e-commerce platforms are pulling out all the stops, focusing on service improvements and eliminating the pre-sale model.
Is this the beginning of a more segmented and specialized e-commerce landscape?
For today's program, I'm joined by Li Yi and Yu Shun in the studio.
First on a day's show. On May 26th, the 2024 China drone racing national championship and China national team trials took flight in Chengdu City, southwestern China's Sichuan province.
The event saw young competitors and their drones racing at speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour offering an exhilarating experience through first-person view or FPV goggles.
This new sport has attracted young people globally.
China as a leading drone manufacturer is at the forefront of this exciting development.
With low altitude economy rapidly expanding, drone sports hold vast potential.
Is this the dawn of a new era of drone sports in China or merely a fleeting craze?
You shunned what is drone racing as the new extreme sport?
So I think most of us are familiar with drones and drone racing turns flying drones into a competitive sport.
Drone racing is a competition where athletes maneuver drones through and around obstacles to reach the finish line in the shortest time possible.
So that's why it's called racing.
Drone operators or we call athletes wear a hat mounted goggle which display real-time video transmitted from a camera on board the drone.
They're flying, meaning the pilot can actually navigate from the drone's eye view.
Drone racing consists of multiple consecutive races, usually involving four radio controlled model aircraft racing together on the track.
And these types of drones are caught FPV drones as in first-person view.
Due to the fact that the drone operator sees only what the drone sees.
And generally compared to the drones we usually see daily in our daily lives, they are bit smaller but faster.
So normally the racing drone speed is about 150 to 200 kilometers per hour but they can even go faster.
If you were a pro, some pilots have been known to reach speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour.
We know that the bullet train, the speed of bullet train can be around 300 kilometers per hour.
So it is really fast. And I don't know if you guys feel, how do you guys feel about it?
Whether it's nerdy or cool.
But I personally think this sport is very, I would say awesome.
Yeah, actually I also think this event is so cool.
It really looks like a combination of arrow modeling and e-sports to me.
Because actually I check a little bit about the competition they held out there and especially for the race tracks where they held the competition for this drone racing.
I mean the map is so complicated.
It's not really like a single trail.
We were simply operating your machine.
Actually there are different obstacles.
Either you need to control your drone to either pass through or simply to avoid those obstacles.
And also when you look at the speed of those drone racing machines, it's actually super challenging both in technology and also for the operation skills for pilots.
Right, and due to the high speed of drone racing, apparently this sport is also dubbed as the Formula One equivalent in the sky.
Yeah. Okay, and also when you guys say pilots, what is that term?
FPV view, first person view as such.
So basically this person is on the ground, just like you and I.
Right, but they're controlling on this controller flying the drone, which is the unmanned aerial vehicle.
And you get the first person view just like you're sitting in a cockpit, in an airplane or whatnot, but now, but you're operating the drone.
So that's kind of the experience.
And of course, if it's a competition, then the pressure is on and also there's going to be a winner at the end.
And this is all very exciting.
But could you also maybe say a bit more about what significance does holding this kind of competition mean for this fast growing and competitive drone industry in China?
Well, I think now since we have more discussion about this drone racing, actually, we do see like a wider participation from youth, particularly the teenagers here in China.
They're like professional or either amateur pilots of this drone racing.
And there are discussions saying that it is actually an opportunity to further develop relevant technologies when it comes to developing this kind of racing.
Because actually, actually any kind of like drone can be used in this competition.
But if you really want to go pro, if you really want to be professional in the race, you actually need a very precise and special design of the drones.
And that involves a speed and agility.
And also whether your machine and also your pilots are good at operation enough.
So there are like different advantages coming from this drone racing.
And another one is that I think it's also good for developing or educational purpose because people are saying that if you are going to be a professional participant in this drone racing competition, then you got to DIY your own machine.
And so that means you need to build your drone from scratch.
And you need really a lot of relevant knowledge and technologies being involved to build your era model like drones.
So some people are saying that it's also good for developing STEM subjects.
So here in China, especially one that comes to your wide participation from teenagers.
Right, I mean, that's all really interesting, but just on his side note, I think it's a great way to obtain special licensing and certification.
Of course, because I know for China and a lot of other countries, actually you can't just fly a drone wherever you want.
You have to follow very strict rules.
And do you call them administrative rules or whatnot?
But certainly drones, yeah, they can do a lot of things.
And governments are usually quite strict about its usage.
And it's always exciting to see new talent coming into an industry and also to see if they can use their own creativity and somehow, even better the equipment as such, because this is also the infrastructure of this particular industry that we're talking about.
And of course, like you guys mentioned, that racing drones are specific for racing purposes.
At least it has to be more agile, like you mentioned, the yee.
And apparently they're tailored for rapid acceleration, sharp turns, and precise control.
So yes, this is very much about racing, and not so much about maybe some of the other scenarios where drones can be used.
I can think of, yeah, last year I remember reading the news about drones out there spotting force fires or the potential of force fires and also spreading pesticides or spreading like waters as in the air irrigation system that could be utilized.
And of course, we've been talking about drone delivery and all kinds of scenarios it can be used.
But it's really fascinating as we're doing research for this show, did I realize that actually even in the world of drones, there are so many different types of drones for specific purposes.
And we just highlighted racing drones.
And you shouldn't this question is specifically for you.
That is explained to us, what is that about drone racing as a sport that is particularly appealing to young people?
First of all, I think we mention a lot of these, you know, maybe future application of, you know, you know, balancing this area maybe they can be in these technological areas.
But I think overall, you know, this is a competition.
This is becoming a sport, right?
And this is actually an event that is becoming more and more important.
The event in China's, the event actually is China's top level drone racing competition and crucial for selecting members of the Chinese national drone team.
And it's reserve team. And athletes are chosen for, you know, the national training team to prepare for the world drone racing championships.
And actually globally, there are also a lot of championships.
And also, I think I saw that in 2025, the world games, it is also one of the programs in the world, the world games 2025.
So actually, this is becoming a sport.
A lot of young people will definitely think that it is a cool and, you know, interesting sport that it is so fresh.
It can offer you the experience that is just so different from other people's hobbies.
Right. And also you need to utilize tech.
And this is also pretty new technology.
And I know a lot of boys and maybe some girls out there too, they're fascinated by, you know, working these little machines.
And also you have this vehicle that you're shooting up into the sky.
And I think all of that kind of combines a lot of the interest points for young people.
Yes, especially when you need to design your own aircrafts, right?
Is that a must? If you are going to professional competitions like this, you got to design your own.
But if you're just for recreational purpose, you can just buy one.
Okay. And we're not talking about competition, right?
And also just bear in mind only eight players get selected out of this competition.
So it's highly competitive.
Yes. And also I think it really makes a lot of sense when you look at there are like fewer participants or professional pilots because I mean worldwide is really quite niche sport event.
Even when you look at a global situation, actually in this sport, you can only sort of emerged around 2010.
And when you look at say, say, drone lovers and if you the ass, they began to experience it with like, say, raising drones equipped with cameras.
But those races were pretty informal.
And then we got this first person view design, which really making the whole experience more exciting and attracting more people to get involved.
But then you do see like say more, say the whole sport events getting more professional or being more widely accepted because of say participation of different communities or or say sponsors of technology companies.
And then they got this say drone racing league, different clubs get involved.
So I think the efforts of promoting this sport event is still going on globally.
And when you look at the China situation, actually we only recognize this drone racing as an official racing event in 2018.
So it's quite like a new and niche sport event.
So I think it just makes sense why this new sport event just attract a lot of young people because it's just cool.
We always like to explore.
And also new things, right?
And also with the FPV experience, you also got this combination of esports.
So when you look at the lovers of esports, of course, a lot of young people out there.
And also I'm just talking about how young people are apparently in this world.
If you haven't made a name for yourself before 18, slim pickings, I'll just put it that way.
Because if you look at the global superstars in this field in South Korea, there is a Mr.
Zin Ming Chen. So Min Chen Kim, he's okay.
So he started completing at the age of seven.
Okay, he must be one of those prodigies and is now 16.
And he's the superstar in that field in South Korea.
And yeah, and if you look at United Kingdom, a guy named Luke 15 years old, a flying ID, Banny, has become a popular superstar in the field.
And also in China, we've got the magnificent Lee Kung Hong, Lee Kwon Huang maybe.
He's 18 with the flying ID of Hailong.
And he's the top tier drone talent.
These are really young people.
And this just reminds me of the wider tech field.
It's like, you know, to make your name stand out, you got to start early and people usually do shine at an early age.
And sorry, this also reminds me of the world of esports.
So usually, you know, the top players, they're just ridiculously young.
And then they retire when they're like 20.
And the team is considered as old.
But this is a fast growing field.
And it's fascinating to see what it's doing for the industry.
And when you look at the backdrop of the industry, China is the leading manufacturer.
When I look at figures and sorry, I forgot to update things, but up to 2021, China manufacturers, 80% of the civil drones out there in the world.
So no wonder you've got, you know, talent who are pouring in, who are interested in this field.
So back to you, you shun.
What do you see as maybe, well, we've talked about the potential, well, the obvious bright size.
But what about the potential downsides?
Do you see them both? I think so, you know, I think just because the aspect of all of these players or athletes are just so young.
Actually, we, they, they of course need support of their parents, right?
And that is why a lot of parents are actually supporting their kids to be, we say, player or athletes of FPV drones.
Because in one side, it actually can improve their concentration in some way.
Because, you know, children flying drones at high speeds from a first person perspective.
And without sufficient focus, it is very difficult for them to actually navigate through various obstacles.
And also it can enhance his hands on skills.
When you are trying to design your own aircraft, you, you know, you need to assemble everything.
You need to tailor to your own flying habits to achieve better flight performances.
Much like how, you know, race car drivers need to modify their vehicles.
So basically parents, a lot of parents are thinking that this is a good way for them to not only focus, trying to, you know, develop their concentration, also help them to improve their hands on skills.
And also, of course, there are a lot of these competitions.
And you can get into this competition and try to win an award.
And may your parents see it as a valuable point.
And it is also, it also lets children know that they can actually achieve their dreams through their sweat and hard work.
And I know that, you know, it sounds very dreamy.
And you, you can achieve like world championship of really, really young age.
But actually you need to put in a lot.
And I actually thought about buying one FPV drone before.
Really? Actually there are some obstacles for me, aside from that one.
Of course, you know, you need to not only fly fast, but also, you know, you need to learn how to fly a drone.
And it's so different from flying a, you know, daily or normal drone.
Because you need to, it's different.
You are seeing through this drone and the cost actually that have kept me from joining them so far.
Well, you do see a passion coming from this young boy about this drone raising.
But meantime, I also want to advocate, you know, for either parents or teachers out there or say young people out there.
I think we just need more, say, encouragement for encouraging more girls to be involved in this sport.
Because when I look at actually those professional pilots, say worldwide, getting involved in this drone raising event, actually most of them, you know, are boys are boys.
So I think it's kind of similar to actually maybe for the eSports and also say arrow modeling, how more.
I think, I think just the girls also need to be encouraged to get involved in this sport event.
And also, I think for a lot of people out there who are not so familiar with this drone raising, maybe people think that it's just a fun sport event that is so far away from me myself.
However, when you look at some professional analysts about this sport events, people are also saying that because of we have this quite niche drone raising, become competition worldwide, then we're also pushing the boundary of drone making.
Say drones are becoming quicker and we got more precise and smarter equipment and design and maybe which will also benefit, say, the daily use of drones, which could also benefit the livelihood of everybody out there.
So it has quite an economic potential.
Yes, certainly. And we're seeing there is a massive talent shortage in this area.
Well, first of all, this is a pretty new industry to start with, although it's growing so rapidly.
And yeah, I've also seen that there's been a pretty fast expansion of the drone clubs, like you guys mentioned.
And I think this ties back into the high costs.
So apparently for the really basic drone models, it's only a few hundred yuan.
So that's like definitely less than a hundred US dollars to get your hands on one.
And these are the some call them to be rather disposable models.
But when you enter the professional stage, apparently it's easy, easy to spend more than 200,000 yuan to end for for, well, that's investment to put into getting the drones so that one could, you know, come in with the equipment and enter and hopefully enter the national competition as such.
So, so well, that would be around 30,000 US dollars and no wonder there are sports clubs and sponsorships that have developed in this area so that, you know, individuals and their families don't need to put in such a huge upfront investment.
And then also working with those in the industry, I think can potentially likely be said influence the industry and also, I mean, this sounds very similar to a lot of the other professional sports, how they develop.
Because if you don't rely necessarily on a state sponsorship as we see in a lot of sports in this country, then you need to find clubs, you need to find sponsorships.
And if you're in for the long game to participate in a sport like this and compete as well.
Yes, and also these money are not only for buying drones, also are the equipment like your goggles and other, you know, it's actually very common to see a lot of crashes when you're playing or in this sport and buying all of these and maybe finding trainers for training your skills of flying drones and also finding a join in a club, something like that.
Is also, I think, an investment in this area and also, I think shortage in talent to train drone operators is also an area that we need to consider because this is quite new as we are all saying.
So some people are good at, you know, playing or flying drones, but maybe they're not really good at teaching people to fly.
And also, I think as you mentioned, who are young China is really a front runner in terms of drone making, which also makes I think the country sort of having this edge in terms of promoting this drone racing event because of those challenges we have mentioned say higher cause and also shortage of talents.
We do need say more attention or discussion about this sport event and by say by doing that, I think China is also trying to organize more competitions or say having more certification support for further education to promote this sport events so that people can to sort of attract more people to get involved in sport event.
For example, there is the official world drone racing championship, which has been held for several years worldwide.
In this year, this competition will be held in China's Hangzhou city this October.
And in terms of participators, China's Chinese players, overall strength ranks among the top groups globally.
But of course, there's still room for improvement, but I think that's really a rather good news because with more discussion and more exposure of this sport event, eventually it may become a more common or widespread sport event like skiing.
Right, yes. I know you're a ski fan and you participate yourself, which is fantastic.
And also, I think for the competition certainly ultimately is about promotion.
And also if you can win a prize, add a few points.
I'm not so sure about this when you're like attending Gao-Kao or the college entrance examination.
Sorry, but a lot of parents could be very practical when they're looking at such things.
But it's just definitely a great way to cultivate new talent, spot new talent, and maybe even in return influence and affect the industry in a really positive way.
