[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong] Naju City in Jeollanam-do is accelerating support for companies to foster the ‘drone’ industry, a core technology of the 4th Industrial Revolution, in collaboration with the Jeonnam Information & Culture Industry Promotion Agency.
The city announced on the 20th that it has completed 15 projects this year under the ‘Infrastructure Establishment and Demonstration Pilot for Industrial Drone Company Development’ initiative, including ‘on-site demonstration support’ and ‘prototype production support’ for local drone companies.
This project, selected in 2019 through a regional industry hub institution support program led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, will invest a total of 12.7 billion KRW by next year (6.2 billion KRW national funds, 2.5 billion KRW provincial funds, 2.5 billion KRW city funds, and 1.5 billion KRW private funds).
On-site demonstration support verifies market suitability and effectiveness through field tests in service industry sites, providing 400 million KRW in funding to seven companies this year.
Additionally, prototype production support, which aids mass production design and performance improvement of developed products, provided 220 million KRW to eight companies.
Last year, the city also supported 24 projects for 15 companies with 870 million KRW.
Through the third year of project implementation, it is expected to generate ripple effects such as technology verification for local drone companies, strengthening corporate capabilities and sales through securing new businesses, and increasing employment.
Furthermore, efforts are being made in areas such as ▲operating equipment utilization training programs for beneficiary companies ▲training test and evaluation experts ▲providing demonstration data, technology, and standard information to support corporate activities ▲networking activities to expand demand markets.
The city and the Jeonnam Information & Culture Industry Promotion Agency opened the ‘Jeonnam Drone Industry Support Center’ in 2020 at the Jeonnam Immersive Media Industry Support Center located in Bitgaram Innovation City, establishing a phased support infrastructure for fostering drone small and medium enterprises.
The center promotes the activation of the drone industry by conducting more than five on-site demonstration supports and prototype production supports annually, along with building a foundation integrating intelligent information technologies such as big data analysis and AI.
In addition, the center offers paid and free rental services of public-use equipment (37 units) for companies, issues test reports, provides on-site testing services, holds regular meetings, and conducts field demand surveys, receiving great responses.
Especially, it provides testing services for drone basic performance, operability evaluation, and development verification tests, achieving the issuance of 30 test reports this year alone.
Educational programs for drone company employees and demand institutions are also actively conducted.
This year, the center promoted training on effective drone development using open source methods, fixed-wing aircraft flight techniques necessary for long-distance missions, and equipment deployment training for fire suppression and search sites.
A city official stated, “We plan to build an artificial intelligence platform applicable in various fields based on data secured through on-site demonstrations, as well as strengthening the competitiveness of drone companies through support projects. We will do our best to provide institutional support so that startup companies can play a leading role in pioneering future industries within the region.”
Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong bong2910@asiae.co.kr
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