SKT Immersive UAM Experience Appears at CES... Introducing Future Mobility

CES attendees boarded the UAM aircraft-type virtual experience simulator presented by SKT. Photo by SKT

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] SK Telecom announced on the 6th (local time) that it showcased an immersive Korean-style Urban Air Mobility (K-UAM) virtual experience program at CES 2023, the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition.

At this CES, where interest in eco-friendly mobility has increased, SKT created a virtual space depicting a future city where an environmentally clean and safe urban air mobility system is established.

The UAM aircraft-shaped virtual experience simulator installed at the SK exhibition hall became a popular experience space attracting continuous visitors at the Central Hall, the core area of the CES 2023 venue (Las Vegas Convention Center).

Visitors who sit in the life-sized electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) seats accommodating four passengers and wear VR headsets can see the landscape of future Busan in 2030 unfold before their eyes. During the flight from Busan Station to Dongbaek Island, they can check their work schedules and meeting materials, book transfer transportation according to AI guidance, and listen to music suitable for their trip.

At this CES, SKT participated in an exhibition hall jointly organized by eight SK Group companies under the theme of Net Zero. Through eco-friendly technologies linking UAM, AI semiconductor ‘SAPEON’, and renewable energy virtual power plants, they proposed ways to reduce greenhouse gases. Utilizing SAPEON semiconductors in UAM aircraft operations can improve operational efficiency, and virtual power plant technology can predict the power demand of vertiports, the takeoff and landing sites.

A virtual power plant is a conceptual virtual system that integrates and manages as a single power plant the small-scale renewable energy produced by individuals or businesses in each region using solar or wind power connected through a platform.

Visitors focused on SKT’s unique technological capabilities leading the commercialization of Korean-style UAM and showed great interest in the collaboration progress between SKT and Joby Aviation, a global leader in the UAM field.

SKT stated, “As presented at CES, we plan to lead the global UAM technology competition by combining the capabilities of SKT and excellent partners, and build a UAM ecosystem that can be proudly showcased worldwide by integrating various ICT technologies.”

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