Drone Delivery and Drone Taxis Approaching... Early Establishment of K-Drone System

A drone that departed from Gangwon Yeongwol Post Office in August 2018 is delivering mail to its destination, Byeolmaro Observatory. / Yeongwol = Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The government is set to conduct a demonstration aimed at introducing a drone traffic management system (K-Drone System) for the commercialization of drone taxis and drone delivery services.

On the 3rd, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it held the 'K-Drone System Large-Scale Demonstration Event and Private Drone Traffic Management Operator Council Inauguration Ceremony' at the drone-exclusive flight test site in Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon Province.

The K-Drone System has been promoted as a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport research and development (R&D) project with the primary goal of practical application since the establishment of a dedicated drone traffic organization within the ministry last year, including the creation of the Future Drone Traffic Division. It is a system that supports the safe flight of multiple drones by monitoring drone flights and preventing collisions, and is considered a core infrastructure for the upcoming era of drone delivery and drone taxis.

This R&D project has been carried out over 5 years and 9 months from April 2017 to December 2022, with a budget of 24.5 billion KRW, of which the government has invested 19.8 billion KRW. It has already succeeded in supporting long-distance drone delivery by the Korea Post and fuel sample delivery between GS Caltex’s refinery facility dock and ships.

Currently, aircraft fly by pilots following air traffic controllers' instructions on flight direction and altitude, but drones operate without onboard pilots and do not receive control services. For flights beyond visual line of sight, there is an urgent need for means to provide collision avoidance with other aircraft or obstacles, weather information, and safety information along the flight path.

However, by utilizing the K-Drone System, drone traffic management operators (USS) can provide separation distances from surrounding drones, safety monitoring along flight routes, weather, and aircraft information based on wireless data such as LTE and 5G. This enhances flight safety and enables simultaneous operation of multiple drones.

This demonstration, the largest of its kind in Korea, involved seven drones assigned individual missions flying simultaneously, successfully performing all core functions for safe flight, including flight plan management and location tracking. Notably, the technology to move or land drones in operation to avoid interfering with emergency aircraft approaching nearby was also showcased, confirming the early practical application potential of the K-Drone System.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the 'K-Drone System Demonstration Expansion and Practical Application Promotion Plan,' which includes three main goals: expanding the K-Drone System demonstration, seamless linkage with follow-up R&D and strengthening international cooperation, and discovering and improving laws and regulations for future commercialization.

Aiming for early commercialization of drone delivery and activation of the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) industry, the government plans to announce a UAM roadmap targeting the first commercialization of drone taxis by 2025 through this plan. Additionally, separate financial projects such as the Korean-style UAM Grand Challenge will be established independently from the K-Drone System R&D to promote demonstration expansion. To this end, the next year's ministry budget proposal will include funding for expanding K-Drone System demonstrations through the Korean-style UAM Grand Challenge to support companies with drone delivery demand. Furthermore, related organizations and local governments interested in drone delivery will be actively supported to discover community-based tasks reflecting the characteristics of each institution.

Son Myung-soo, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, who attended the event, said, "From 2022, when drone traffic management functions are significantly expanded, we expect drone traffic management businesses involving various private operators to begin in earnest." He also urged participating institutions in the K-Drone System R&D to "thoroughly manage the project to create successful real-world use cases tailored to demand and gradually expand the scope of application to promote practical use."

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