"10 Minutes from Gimpo Airport to Gangnam" SKT Successfully Demonstrates UAM-Based Metropolitan Area Airport Shuttle

SKT Unveils Gimpo Airport-Seoul Metropolitan UAM Operation Model with KAC, Hanwha Systems, and Tmap Mobility

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] The ‘Korean Urban Air Mobility (K-UAM) Dream Team,’ which includes SK Telecom, has successfully completed a comprehensive demonstration of Korean-style UAM (Urban Air Mobility) that will revolutionize mobility culture in the Seoul metropolitan area, smoothly advancing toward the goal of commercialization in 2025.

On the 11th, SK Telecom, together with Korea Airports Corporation, Hanwha Systems, Korea Transport Institute, and T Map Mobility, unveiled an operational model for the commercialization of UAM in the metropolitan area.

SK Telecom and its partner companies comprehensively demonstrated their core competencies in UAM service, infrastructure, aircraft, and research through the ‘K-UAM Airport Demonstration’ led by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport at Gimpo International Airport, using the so-called ‘air taxi’ UAM.

On this day, SK Telecom established a stable connection between the UAM pilot circling for about three minutes over the airspace outside Gimpo International Airport and the ground control center via aerial and terrestrial mobile communication networks. This demonstration was necessary to build an information-sharing system capable of safely managing UAM takeoffs and landings at airports where aircraft operate, as well as enabling customers using UAM to utilize airport facilities and transfer quickly and conveniently to other transportation modes.

SK Telecom also succeeded in autonomous drone flight control linked with the K-Drone System, demonstrating technology that can integrally manage aircraft, UAM, and unmanned aerial vehicles using ICT technology at airports.

Meanwhile, T Map Mobility introduced a next-generation mobility platform that conveniently connects urban transportation and UAM. At the demonstration site, a virtual reality (VR) scene was created showing a transfer vehicle arriving in sync with the landing time of a passenger who flew on the UAM. T Map Mobility plans to launch an integrated mobility platform based on capabilities accumulated through ‘T Map’ and ‘Wooty,’ believing that fast and convenient reservation methods and safe boarding processes will determine the quality of UAM services.

Korea Airports Corporation and Hanwha Systems, collaborating with SK Telecom, also showcased advanced technologies. Korea Airports Corporation conducted Korea’s first UAM airport demonstration and implemented an integrated UAM-aircraft control system and a future vertiport utilizing a business aviation terminal. Hanwha Systems exhibited a full-scale model of the ‘Butterfly,’ a 5-seat air mobility aircraft capable of flying safely and swiftly at speeds up to 320 km/h.

UAM is an electric-powered aerial mobility service that enables vertical takeoff and landing without runways in urban areas and is gaining attention as an eco-friendly transportation mode that can be linked with various ground transportation means. The government is accelerating demonstrations of metropolitan airport shuttle services aiming for commercialization in 2025. The routes centered on Gimpo Airport will consist of app-based reservations and connected transportation boarding by T Map Mobility, UAM flight and traffic management infrastructure using SK Telecom’s aerial network communication technology, among other components.

As the UAM industry advances toward remote control or autonomous operation, the establishment and operation of aeronautical communication networks are expected to become increasingly important. SK Telecom plans to continue leading communication technology that connects ground and air based on its stable network operation capabilities.

Yoo Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom, stated, “Based on SK Telecom’s advanced communication and digital infrastructure, we will play a key role in the development of the UAM industry, reducing social costs caused by traffic congestion and contributing to the establishment of eco-friendly transportation with zero greenhouse gas emissions.”

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