In a bid to accelerate the development of eVTOL and Drone technologies, South Korea is to invest USD22.4 million (29 billion won) to construct a future Aviation Technology Centre in the eastern city of Wonju for the development, demonstration and technology evaluation of future aviation technologies, reports ajudaily.com.
This four-storey research centre will be built on land that is 6,416 square metres wide, or about the size of a football stadium, at the Buron Digital Healthcare National Industrial Complex, located west of Wonju. This particular complex covers 1,012,000 metres and is due to be finished by December 2024.
Won Kang-soo, Mayor of Wonju City, said in a statement today (November 20th), “We are taking a major leap to become a technology city that leads the future UAM industry in the country, by constructing this Aviation Technology Centre.”
The AviationTechnology Centre is a Small Part of a Massive Healthcare and Industrial Complex in Wonju (Credit: Wonju City)A public-private consultative body called Urban Air Mobility Team Korea was launched in June 2020 to commercialise drones and flying taxis by 2026, “after the government released a roadmap including the enactment of a special law that would introduce a new urban ecosystem covering personal aerial vehicles ahead of other countries,” explains the article.
South Korea’s “dream team” includes Hyundai Motor, Hanwha Systems, Korean Air, SK Telecom, and Doosan Mobility Innovation.
Delivery and cargo drones are an important part of the ambitious plan. Their various purposes can include search and rescue of people stranded in the sea or forest; inspection of the structural integrity of buildings such as bridges and high chimneys of factories; and deliveries of medicine and daily necessities to hard-to-reach places such as remote villages located in islands and mountains.
However, both drone-related services and flying taxis “are heavily regulated in South Korea where most urban areas are de facto no-fly zones,” explains the article, “because of safety and security reasons.”
It goes on, “South Korea is conducting thorough verifications of flying vehicle-related technologies and operations to prevent safety accidents and breaches of security at military bases and high-security areas near Seoul and its surrounding cities.”
(News Source: https://www.ajudaily.com)
