Logistics architectures for the low-altitude economy: a bounded-adaptation framework for transferring intralogistics control methods

Abstract The transition of the Low-Altitude Economy (LAE) from vehicle development to operational scaling raises a fundamental methodological question: under which conditions can established methods from industrial intralogistics be transferred to aerial logistics operations without violating aviation-specific physical, safety, and regulatory constraints. This perspective paper proposes a conceptual and methodological framework for the systematic convergence of industrial intralogistics and LAE operations, treating the LAE as a high-frequency material flow system. We consider this a promising research avenue that we are beginning to pursue systematically. Drawing on expertise from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), we identify topological analogies between automated 3D-shuttle warehouses and urban air corridors, and propose Material Flow Control (MFC) as a complement to classical Air Traffic Management (ATM). The core contribution is the Bounded Adaptation framework: a structured, dimension-based transfer model determining which intralogistics methods are portable to LAE, which require bounded modification, and which are inadmissible. The proposed methodology couples an MFC dispatching layer (upper level, Discrete-Event Simulation) with continuous flight-dynamics simulation (lower level), supplemented by Rare Event Simulation and Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) 2.5-aligned Ground Impact Footprint assessment as the enabling safety complement. In this perspective, we present ten transfer parallels grounded in validated projects of the Chair of Materials Handling, Material Flow, and Logistics (fml), mapped to LAE challenges. The primary European contribution to Chinese LAE development lies in Safety Mindset and structured assessment methods—a productive research complementarity: China’s GB 46750-2025 1 s position reports provide precisely the data stream that European Rare Event Simulation requires for calibration. The overarching research question—which operational capacity can be expected when SORA 2.5 requirements are fully met—frames the joint TUM×SJTU research agenda that this paper derives. Quantitative validation will be reported in subsequent publications.