Do Drones Also Need Highways? [Juhyung Lim's Tech Talk]

Rapid Increase in Drone Usage for Delivery, Taxi Services
Safety Issues Like Collisions with Drone Traffic Surge
‘Drone Highway’ Designed to Solve These Problems
Introduction of Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) Platform
Aiming to Establish Systematic Drone Traffic Infrastructure

'2021 Yeongdong-daero Countdown Drone Light Show'. Photo by Hyundai Motor YouTube video capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] Unmanned aerial vehicles, drones, are already very familiar to humans. At night, drones equipped with colorful displays fly in swarms to perform 'drone shows,' and they also monitor dangerous places that are difficult for people to access.

In particular, the '2021 Yeongdong-daero Countdown Drone Light Show' held on New Year's Day, January 1st, was a scene that demonstrated how deeply drones have become integrated into our daily lives.

As 5G networks become widespread and automatic flight and aerodynamics advance further, drones are expected to become much more closely connected to our lives than they are now. Drones can become delivery services that quickly transport important packages through aerial routes, and the concept of 'drone taxis' that shuttle people between buildings is also under research.

However, there is still a long way to go in the mass operation and control of drones. If tens of thousands of drones flying in the sky collide with other aircraft or get entangled with each other, it could lead to major accidents. The concept devised to solve this problem is the 'drone corridor' or 'drone highway.'

According to data released last year by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the number of officially authorized drones worldwide is expected to increase to about 2.7 million by 2023, more than three times the current number.

As drone demand increases further due to drone delivery technology and other factors, the number of drones could grow much larger than initially expected. This has raised concerns that even if high-level autonomous drone flight technology is developed, it might not be properly usable. This is because too many drones flying simultaneously in the sky risk collisions or entanglements.

On the afternoon of November 16 last year, a drone taxi was flying over Suseongmot in Suseong-gu, Daegu. This flight was conducted as a demonstration of urban air mobility (UAM) flight to introduce the drone taxi service. / Photo by Yonhap News

So how can these problems be solved? Aviation regulatory authorities in advanced countries such as NASA in the U.S. and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in the U.K. are accelerating research aimed at building new infrastructure called 'drone highways.'

Drone highways are invisible aerial corridors exclusively for drones. These corridors establish a traffic system that enables safe drone navigation by using various sensors installed inside drones or external control functions. Through this, drone highways can safely establish services such as drone delivery and drone taxis, which were previously considered somewhat risky.

The most essential technology for introducing drone highways is the Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system. Traditional aircraft receive voice commands from control towers to prevent collisions or dangerous situations between aircraft.

However, it is practically impossible for humans to individually control the exponentially increasing number of unmanned drones. Therefore, an automated management system is being developed that connects each drone via communication networks such as satellites and 5G, and automatically issues warning messages if drones are at risk of collision.

Through this UTM, the movement and speed of drones are adjusted according to the traffic volume on highways where tens of thousands of drones pass at once, thereby establishing a safe drone industry.

Advanced aviation countries such as the U.S. and the U.K. are already competing to open drone highways. NASA in the U.S. has been developing UTM for the American drone industry since 2015.

On October 17 last year, participating companies demonstrated drone-based goods delivery at the 4th Pangyo Autonomous Mobility Show held in the areas of Pangyo 1st and 2nd Techno Valley, Gyeonggi Province. / Photo by Yonhap News

On the 15th (local time), the U.K. announced plans to establish a drone highway about 8 km long near Reading City in southern England next year.

This highway will test whether drones can fly safely using UTM and other systems without relying on the pilot's visual line of sight.

Similar efforts are underway domestically as well. On the 11th of last month, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport demonstrated urban air mobility technology using the 'K-Drone System' in Yeouido, Seoul.

The K-Drone System is a Korean-style UTM developed for the safe operation of drones and is known to support operations such as drone delivery and drone taxis.

At the event, Son Myung-soo, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Through this demonstration, we will experience the near future of urban air mobility ahead of time," and added, "We have also identified the challenges ahead in systems, technology, and services."

He emphasized, "We will continue to provide flight opportunities for new aircraft such as vertical takeoff and landing drone taxis and promptly establish reasonable regulations for commercialization."