The 9th World Drone Congress closed in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday after a three-day showcase of cutting-edge aerial technologies, with Chinese firms cementing their dominance on a sector poised to reshape industries from emergency response to urban management.

With 825 exhibitors and over 5,000 drones displayed -- including unmanned helicopter, unmanned multi-rotor aircraft and electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, the annual event saw deals worth 20 billion yuan (2.78 billion U.S. dollars) signed.
Shenzhen alone, home to 2,000 drone firms generating over 100 billion yuan (13.8 billion dollars) annually, underscored its role as the sector's Silicon Valley, according to statistics.
"China's consumer drones account for 74 percent of the global market, and its industrial drones make up 55 percent of the global market. It has mastered about 200 application scenarios, and this number may exceed 2,000 in future. It can be said that there is nothing it can't do within your imagination," said Yang Jincai, chairman of Shenzhen UAV Industry Association, the first of its kind in China.
The congress also highlighted a pivot toward heavy-duty solutions.
One exhibit, a 1.4-ton unmanned aircraft capable of eight-hour missions, drew attention for its disaster response potential.
"Its takeoff weight can reach 1.4 tons and it can cruise for 8 hours. It can serve as a 120 ambulance in the air to carry out personnel rescue and extinguish forest fires, and the transportation and distribution of emergency supplies," said Sun Liye, vice-president of the United Aircraft Group, a drone company.
Another standout innovation which debuted at the event is a hybrid drone-robot platform using compliant technology -- flexible, shock-absorbing systems that reduce mid-air instability.
"We have added robotic technologies into our drone platform. First, it's lightweight; second, it has compliant technology so it can partially offset the recoil force when working in the air. It can achieve an operational capacity more than 2.5 times that of manual labor," said Wang Yilin, an exhibitor.