SKT Participates in '2021 Seoul Smart Mobility Expo' with KAC, Hanwha Systems, T map Mobility
Space Provided for UAM Boarding Reservations via Smartphone App and Virtual Takeoff, Landing, and Flight Experience
[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] SK Telecom announced on the 10th that it will participate in the ‘2021 Seoul Smart Mobility Expo’ alongside Korea Airports Corporation, Hanwha Systems, Korea Transport Institute, and T map Mobility to showcase a VR-based Urban Air Mobility (UAM) boarding experience.
The exhibition, held at the Culture Depot in Mapo-gu, Seoul, is organized around three main themes: Urban Air Mobility (UAM), smart logistics, and autonomous driving. Companies and institutions involved in Seoul’s smart mobility projects aimed at solving traffic problems caused by urban concentration will participate to share future transportation environments and mobility development directions.
The ‘K-UAM Dream Team,’ leading domestic UAM development and consisting of SK Telecom, Korea Airports Corporation, Hanwha Systems, and Korea Transport Institute, has prepared a space to introduce their business vision and core technologies in service, infrastructure, aircraft, and research fields.
SK Telecom and T map Mobility have prepared a reservation process and virtual boarding experience corner that determine the quality of UAM services. By accessing T map Mobility’s service platform via smartphone and searching for a route, users can compare travel times between ground transportation and UAM. After completing reservation and boarding procedures through simple user authentication such as facial recognition, users can board a simulator to watch a virtual reality (VR) video of flying over Seoul’s skies in a UAM vehicle.
Korea Airports Corporation will exhibit a scaled model of the world’s first UAM takeoff and landing site ‘Infrastructure Hub (Project N.E.S.T),’ whose construction plan was announced last November. Additionally, a video introducing the 2025 vision that the ‘K-UAM Dream Team’ aims to commercialize will be presented to help visitors understand the project.
Hanwha Systems will display a full-scale model of the ‘Butterfly,’ an air mobility aircraft that flies safely and swiftly at a maximum speed of 320 km/h, along with an internal simulator for UAM experience. The Korea Transport Institute will share research results on UAM demand forecasting and Vertiport site conditions through a conference held during the exhibition and will also conduct a survey targeting visitors.
UAM is an electric-powered aerial mobility service capable of vertical takeoff and landing without runways in urban areas, offering an eco-friendly transportation mode that can be integrated with various ground transportation means. SK Telecom plans to accelerate the development of innovative mobility services linking ground and aerial transportation through continuous collaboration with leading domestic UAM technology institutions and companies.
Lee Jong-ho, CEO of T map Mobility, stated, “We plan to build a mobility platform that integrates UAM boarding reservations with transfer services to ground transportation such as buses, trains, and personal mobility.” Yoo Young-sang, Head of SK Telecom’s MNO Business, said, “Based on SK Telecom’s advanced ICT infrastructure and T map Mobility’s expertise in operating the ‘T map’ platform, we will lead UAM innovation and contribute to reducing social costs caused by traffic congestion in large cities.”
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