Drone and Personal Aerial Vehicle Technologies at a Glance... 'Unmanned Mobility Industry Expo' Held

Moon Seung-wook, Minister of Industry, "Proactive Response to Market Demand through Early Development... Investment in Professional Workforce Training and Job Creation"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The '2021 Unmanned Mobility Industry Expo (UWC)', an exhibition and conference on unmanned mobility, will be held for three days from the 26th at COEX in Seoul.

UWC is Korea's first specialized unmanned mobility event, launched in 2018 under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Science and ICT. Unmanned mobility devices capable of autonomous driving and remote control can be applied in various fields such as mobility, defense, delivery, urban management, disaster response, public safety, environment, weather, agriculture, and space.

This year, UWC selected drones, Personal Air Vehicles (PAV), Urban Air Mobility (UAM), and defense unmanned systems (army, navy, and air force unmanned mobility) as its main themes. The event consists of a 'Exhibition' with a total of 361 booths (7,281㎡), including 127 booths from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, 70 booths from the Ministry of Science and ICT, 60 booths from the Ministry of National Defense, 26 booths from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showcasing government R&D innovation achievements, and 78 booths from 58 companies; a 'Conference' focusing on UAM, defense unmanned mobility, and illegal drone countermeasures; 'Defense Rapid Acquisition Project Consulting'; and various 'side events' such as the DNA + Drone Challenge awards ceremony.

Moon Seung-wook, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, said in a video opening address, "To foster the personal air vehicle and urban air mobility industries, we plan to proactively respond to market demand by early development of core components such as aviation motors and batteries, large cargo (logistics) drones based on high-performance hydrogen fuel cells, and multi-passenger personal air vehicles." He emphasized, "Since the advanced unmanned mobility industry requires securing creative and specialized talent, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is supporting projects to train master's and doctoral level experts. We will not spare investment so that this industry can become a fountain of quality jobs for the youth."

Im Hye-sook, Minister of Science and ICT, stated, "The convergence of various new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), 5th generation mobile communication (5G), and big data, which began with the 4th Industrial Revolution, with unmanned mobility has expanded its application areas, enabling not only the replacement of our daily tasks but also space exploration." She added, "To continuously nurture and develop the domestic unmanned mobility industry, we will secure core technologies for next-generation unmanned mobility and make sustained efforts to create initial markets based on public demand."