GS Caltex Delivers Fuel Samples by Drone... "Practical Use of K-Drone System"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] GS Caltex announced on the 8th that it held a demonstration event for delivering fuel samples by drone at the Incheon Logistics Center located in Jung-gu, Incheon.

About 20 people attended the event, including Son Myung-soo, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Kim Yeon-myung, President of the Aviation Safety Technology Institute, and Kim Ki-tae, President of GS Caltex.

The GS Caltex Incheon Logistics Center plans to replace the current method of transporting fuel samples by small vessels before unloading fuel from oil tankers docked at the pier with drone delivery.

The company explained that the idea for drone delivery originated from difficulties faced by on-site employees at the Incheon Logistics Center and was adopted through an internal contest.

Based on experiences with excellent drone cases in the United States and China through an internal experience program, this employee conceived the idea of delivering fuel samples by drone and utilized the drone traffic and logistics delivery systems of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The 'K-Drone System' used in the demonstration is an unmanned aerial vehicle control system being developed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to promote drone delivery and drone taxis.

GS Caltex emphasized that this is the first private demonstration using the K-Drone System, proving that it has moved beyond the research and development stage into the early commercialization phase.

Additionally, the drones, transport containers, and navigation devices showcased in the demonstration were developed through the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s drone delivery system, a delivery drone demonstration research and development project launched last year.

GS Caltex plans to commercialize the system within this year and is also considering expanding it to logistics centers nationwide.

A GS Caltex official said, "We expect this to be a good case for domestic companies to refer to in improving management efficiency through drones in production and operation processes," adding, "We will start commercialization as soon as possible and strive to enable its use in various fields."

Since 2015, GS Caltex has been using drones at the Yeosu plant to inspect corrosion or cracks on equipment that is difficult for personnel to access, and it also plans to explore using GS Caltex’s network, such as gas stations, as drone delivery takeoff and landing sites.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.