Gyeongnam Province to Foster Future Personal Air Vehicle Industry

AerocarX-1, winner of the 2020 Grand Prize. (Photo by Gyeongnam Province)

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[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kang Woo-kwon] Gyeongnam Province, together with Jinju City, Sacheon City, and Goseong County, held the ‘2020 UAM (K-PAV) International Academic Conference’ on the 13th at the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) Jinju headquarters to foster and expand the future personal air vehicle (PAV) industry.

Gyeongnam Province has maintained continuous interest in the development of future personal air vehicles (PAV) and has held technology competitions since 2010. Since 2016, it has organized the Korean Future Personal Air Vehicle (K-PAV) academic conference in conjunction with the technology competitions to provide a platform for technological advancement and academic exchange.

Currently, governments and industries worldwide are focusing on rapidly advancing cutting-edge technologies related to PAVs, such as battery and motor technology, collision avoidance, and autonomous driving. In this context, Gyeongnam Province organized this academic conference as an active response.

The conference began with keynote speeches on ▲“Korean Urban Air Mobility (K-UAM) Implementation Plan (Roadmap)” by Lee Rang, Future Drone Transportation Officer of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and ▲“Boeing’s Vision for the Future of Mobility” by Eric John, CEO of Boeing Korea.

Following this, leading domestic and international companies in urban air mobility (UAM) development delivered thematic presentations. These included ▲Hyundai Motor Company’s “Opening a New Era of Urban Transportation,” ▲Safran Korea’s “Safran’s New Aeromobility Solutions,” ▲Hanwha Systems’ “Current Status and Plans for Hanwha Systems’ UAM Business,” ▲Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)’s “UAM Industrialization and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Design and Development,” ▲Korea Aerospace Research Institute’s “UAM Development Trends and Challenges,” and ▲Korea Aviation Safety Technology Institute’s “Aircraft Certification for Safe UAM,” sharing important information on certification and development trends in the UAM field.

In particular, Hyundai Motor Company created an opportunity to share its vision for the UAM market and potential markets. Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) introduced the importance of vehicle technology in this industry and explained the current status, characteristics, and development plans for fostering vehicle technology.

Park Jong-won, Deputy Governor for Economy of Gyeongnam Province, said, “The vehicle that won the 2020 Future Personal Air Vehicle (PAV) Technology Competition this year has improved technological performance and is capable of vertical takeoff and landing without a runway.” He added, “Gyeongnam Province will foster future strategic industries by establishing testing, evaluation, and certification infrastructure and promoting the production base of unmanned aerial vehicle industries to pioneer new markets such as PAV and UAM, which are untapped and highly promising markets.”

The event also included an awards ceremony for winners who achieved excellent results at the ‘International PAV Technology Competition’ held on October 23-24, and an exhibition of 11 domestic manned drone development vehicles alongside the award-winning vehicles, attracting the interest of attendees.

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