World's First! Hong Kong Launches "Drone Take-off Reliability Index" to Tackle Low-Altitude Economy Regulatory Challenges

September 11, 2025, Hong Kong — Hong Kong has become a global focal point for innovation in low-altitude economy regulation. The world's first "Drone Take-off Reliability Index (DTORI)" was officially launched at the China Merchants Wharf marking a groundbreaking initiative that will redefine safety standards and reliability assessment systems in the drone industry, providing new momentum for Hong Kong's development as a smart city.

[Drone Takeoff Reliability Index Committee Members Group Photo : (Left to Right) Mr. Samuel lam, Mr. Lin Han, Dr. Edwin Hiu, Mr. Chi Xingjun, Mr. Patrick Shum, Ms. Elizabeth Quat, Dr. Winnie Tang, Dr.Henry Wong, Mr. Ronald Pong, Mr. Justin Yueng

Addressing Industry Pain Points: Reliability as a Key Barrier to Drone Adoption 

With the Hong Kong SAR government identifying the low-altitude economy as a key development area, drones hold vast potential for applications in logistics, surveying, emergency response, and more. However, challenges such as flight reliability in complex urban environments, constraints posed by weather and terrain, and lack of public trust have hindered the industry's large-scale growth. The launch of the DTORI project aims to address these bottlenecks.

[Drone Takeoff Reliability Index System Real time Demonstration]

Building a Scientific Assessment System: Four Innovative Breakthroughs 

This project, jointly promoted by organizations such as Damoda and X Social Group, has passed the Hong Kong government's sandbox qualification review and has selected the China Merchants Wharf as its testing base. The initiative brings together authoritative institutions including the Greater Bay Area Low-Altitude Economy Alliance, China Unicom Innovation Research Institute, and Hong Kong Telecom, focusing on four core capabilities:

1.      Technological Breakthrough: Developing the world's first dynamic risk assessment index model integrating multi-dimensional data from "satellite, aerial, ground, drone, and regulatory" sources (including satellite, meteorological, terrain, electromagnetic, real-time flight data, and drone specifications) with centimeter-level precision. By consolidating multi-source heterogeneous data and leveraging advanced data processing and analysis technologies, the model achieves comprehensive and precise perception of low-altitude flight environments, providing high-precision risk assessments for drone operations.

2.      Industry Empowerment: Establishing a DTORI international certification system to provide operators, manufacturers, and insurance companies with authoritative safety benchmarks; launching an integrated "data + certification + insurance" solution. This certification system will serve as an industry-wide authoritative standard, helping businesses enhance operational safety, reduce risks, and providing insurance companies with scientific and reasonable pricing bases, thereby fostering synergistic development across the low-altitude economy industrial chain.

3.      Social Benefits: Significantly reducing drone accident rates, boosting public trust, and accelerating the adoption of drones in critical scenarios such as medical emergencies and urban logistics. Through reliable risk assessment and management, the project enhances the safety of drone flights, reduces accidents, strengthens public confidence in drone applications, and promotes the widespread use of drones in public welfare sectors like medical emergencies and urban logistics, delivering more convenient and efficient services to society.

4.      International Influence: Leading the development of the "Greater Bay Area Drone Operation Safety Assessment Standard Fram   ework," promoting the inclusion of DTORI core modules into international standards, and enhancing Hong Kong's voice in the global low-altitude economy sector. By participating in international standard-setting, Hong Kong will showcase its technological strengths and innovative achievements to the world, bolstering its influence and competitiveness in the global low-altitude economy arena and positioning itself as a hub for rule-making in this field.

[MOU Signing Ceremony : X Social Group Mr. Samuel Lam , Greater Bay Area Low-altitude Economy Alliance Ms. Elizabeth Quat， and Damoda Mr. Justin Yeung]

Legislative Councilor and Founding President of the Greater Bay Area Low-altitude Economy Alliance, Mrs. Elizabeth Quat, stated: “In Hong Kong’s densely built-up urban environment with complex airspace, the greatest challenge for drone operations is not just ‘flying’, but the ‘take-off and landing phase’. The birth of the Drone Take-off Reliability Index is precisely aimed at this core pain-point, seeking to eliminate the traditional dilemma of insufficient take-off environment information. We hope that, through this index, we can lead the drafting of the ‘Greater Bay Area UAV Operational Safety Assessment Standards Framework’ and actively promote the incorporation of its core modules into international standards. By translating Hong Kong’s technological strengths, management experience and global perspective into discourse power in the worldwide low-altitude economy, we can offer the world a safe, reliable and efficient ‘Hong Kong solution’. This epitomizes the core value that Hong Kong brings to the development of the Greater Bay Area’s low-altitude economy.”

[MOU Signing Ceremony : X Social Group Mr. Samuel Lam, China Unicom Hong Kong Innovation Research Institute Mr. Chi Xinjun , and Damoda Mr. Justin Yeung]

[MOU Signing Ceremony: X Social Group Mr. Samuel Lam, Hong Kong Information Security Academy  Mr. Ronald Poon, and Damoda Mr. Justin Yeung]

Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration to Establish Hong Kong as a Benchmark for the Low-Altitude Economy 

At the launch ceremony, government representatives, DTORI committee members, and legislator Elizabeth Quat emphasized the project's significance for Hong Kong's smart city development. Experts including Justin Yeung, Samuel Lam, Dr. Edwin Hui, Elizabeth Quat, and committee secretary Michele Ho shared in-depth insights on technological breakthroughs and implementation pathways. A strategic cooperation signing ceremony was also held, with the Greater Bay Area Low-Altitude Economy Alliance, Damoda, X Social Group, China Unicom (Hong Kong) Innovation Research Institute, and other institutions signing memorandums of understanding. Together with earlier signatories Hong Kong Telecom and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, these collaborations laid the foundation for cross-sector cooperation. Simultaneously, a drone swarm flight performance demonstrated the project's technical reliability by conducting real-time validation of key technical parameters.

[Drone Takeoff Reliability Index Ceremony Drone Light Show]

The launch of this innovative project signifies Hong Kong's proactive efforts, driven by collaboration among the government, enterprises, and research institutions, to establish itself as an international benchmark for the low-altitude economy. This initiative injects innovative momentum into the city's smart transformation, further solidifying Hong Kong's status as an international hub for technological innovation.

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