Drones and Metaverse as Guardians of Industrial Complex Environments

ESH Environmental Consulting Firm Chemtopia
Uses Drones to Detect Air Quality and Hazards
Also Collects Data for Metaverse Construction

Jongin Hong, Team Leader of Smart Safety Control at Chemtopia

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Before ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management became popular, the term ESH (Environment, Safety, and Health) was widely used in the early 2000s. ESH refers to corporate activities aimed at creating environmentally friendly, safe, and healthy workplaces.

Chemtopia, a specialized environmental consulting firm, has been providing ESH-related solutions to companies since 2002. Through smart technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), it manages workers' safety and health and helps companies respond to energy and carbon neutrality issues. Recently, Chemtopia established a drone business division in the ESH field to offer new services such as detecting air quality within industrial complexes, identifying risk factors, and collecting data for building metaverse (extended virtual world) environments using drones.

Since September last year, Chemtopia has been conducting a project measuring environmental data with drones in the Banwol-Sihwa National Industrial Complex. The purpose is to check and analyze various air pollutants generated by factories located in the industrial complex to prepare for potential risks. Hong Jong-in, head of Chemtopia’s Smart Safety Drone Team, explained, "We fly drones at altitudes ranging from 50m to 100m to identify which chemical substances exist at each height," adding, "It is possible to check in real-time what substances are in the air through sensors and communication terminals attached to the drones."

Chemtopia has many experts with doctorates in chemistry, ecology, and health fields. Even before launching the drone business, it has provided chemical substance management services for over 20 years. It is the industry leader among consulting firms that handle registration procedures under the Chemical Substances Registration and Evaluation Act (Hwapyungbeop) and the Chemical Control Act (Hwagwanbeop). Its sales grew from approximately 10 billion KRW in 2019 to 21.5 billion KRW last year.

In addition to environmental data, Hong’s team is also measuring parking data around the industrial complex simultaneously. Since there are no designated parking spaces around the industrial complex, many illegally parked vehicles exist. This can block fire trucks' access routes in case of fire, making it a safety-critical issue. Hong said, "We fly drones at heights of 13 to 20 meters to capture images that allow license plate recognition," adding, "The collected data is handed over to the relevant authorities."

Chemtopia also possesses the technical capability to design drones in-house. Hong explained, "Customizing drones according to their intended use, such as for filming or sensor detection, is necessary to achieve optimal results," and added, "It is also important to carefully consider the characteristics of the location where the drone will be used, such as wind and radio interference."

Banwol-Sihwa National Industrial Complex, implemented in the metaverse and filmed by drone by Chemtopia.

Another mission of Hong’s team is to film the entire industrial complex with drones and convert it into a metaverse. Using small and medium-sized drones equipped with 6?8K resolution, the industrial complex is divided into blocks spaced 3 to 5 meters apart and filmed. The footage is then aligned and converted into 3D, which is implemented in the metaverse space. The internal spaces and production lines of each company located in the industrial complex are filmed separately by other companies and integrated into the metaverse. Hong said, "This work allows overseas buyers, who cannot visit Korea due to COVID-19, to understand where interested companies are located and what their factory interiors look like," adding, "From the perspective of companies in the industrial complex, they can also promote themselves by adding images and voice introductions to their metaverse presence."

Besides measuring environmental and parking data and building the metaverse with drones, Chemtopia is expanding its business into various fields such as performances and defense. In the second half of this year, it plans to hold 5 to 6 drone performances, including regular shows. Regarding defense business, it plans to pursue a long-range reconnaissance drone project worth approximately 40 billion KRW in the second half of this year and participate in the Army’s 'Mission-type Drone Challenge Competition' scheduled for September.