Shanghai’s Lingang smart manufacturing base is to become a testbed for unmanned aircraft, vehicles and vessels.

Construction at the base, with nearly 20 artificial intelligence companies involved, has begun in Lingang, the port area of the Pudong New Area, according to the Lingang Development Administration.

With the approval of the air force, pilotless aircraft will be allowed to fly at altitudes of under 200 meters in a 6-kilometer diameter area around Fengxian industrial park and Dishui Lake’s west island.