[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il]
Kim Seong-ryeol, Head of Technology Headquarters, has recently drawn attention by showing swift movements to build an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) platform and implement a precise safety management system for aging structures... Head Kim emphasized, “Once the GTX opens, construction customers may be lost, causing management difficulties, so it is necessary to seek countermeasures.”
Seoul Metro, which is struggling with an annual deficit reaching 1 trillion won, is actively working to find new avenues for growth, attracting attention.
The corporation has faced increasing deficits every year due to a decrease in passengers over the three years following COVID-19.
As a result, it announced plans to sell prime real estate assets, but the realization of these plans remains uncertain.
Meanwhile, it is preparing progressive measures for the company’s future, drawing interest.
This role is being led by Kim Seong-ryeol, Head of Technology Headquarters.
Holding a Ph.D. in Telecommunications Engineering, Head Kim is moving quickly to build an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) platform and implement a precise safety management system for aging structures.
Seoul Metro and LG Uplus Join Hands to Build UAM Platform Across Seoul
Seoul Metro and LG Uplus have joined forces to build a UAM (Urban Air Mobility) platform across Seoul.
On the 13th, Seoul Metro and LG Uplus signed a business agreement to establish a UAM complex transfer center and cooperate for the early commercialization of UAM.
UAM refers to a future-type air taxi system that maximizes mobility efficiency within the city by utilizing a three-dimensional aerial transportation system. It plans to operate for passenger and cargo transport by combining with electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) capable personal air vehicles (PAVs).
Through this agreement, both parties plan to build a future-oriented UAM complex transfer center utilizing subway transportation infrastructure and cooperate for the early commercialization of UAM.
To this end, Seoul Metro will support administrative matters such as systems for introducing the complex transfer center and vertiport infrastructure, while LG Uplus will develop a traffic management system for route operation and conduct demonstrations of UAM-related communication technologies.
The UAM complex transfer centers are being considered for introduction at subway stations with high passenger traffic such as Samseong Station, Suseo Station, and Guro Digital Complex, where subway, GTX, and bus users converge. Currently, Seoul Metro operates an urban rail network of 275 stations across lines 1 to 8 throughout Seoul.
Along with demonstrations related to the introduction of the complex transfer center, both parties will also conduct pre-studies on flight environment factors such as feasibility of UAM, technology safety, local community acceptance, weather conditions along flight routes, and flight obstacles.
Head of Technology Kim Seong-ryeol stated, “When Seoul Metro’s subway stations operating throughout Seoul combine with the emerging future urban transportation technology UAM as a transfer network, a new transportation revolution is expected to occur. Through this cooperation with LG Uplus, Seoul Metro is expected to play a major role as a core of new future transportation services.”
Seoul Metro Signs Business Agreement with Clover Studio, a Specialist in Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) Platforms
In addition, on the 13th, Seoul Metro signed a business agreement with Clover Studio, a specialist company in unmanned traffic management (UTM) platforms, to implement a precise safety management system for aging structures.
Both parties will jointly develop an urban rail infrastructure management model including a 3D map-based drone control system.
Clover Studio is a drone-specialized company that has won the Innovation Award at the U.S. CES, regarded as the world’s IT Olympics, for three consecutive years.
Since Seoul Metro has been in operation for several decades, the number of aging facilities is increasing. Inspection of aging facilities is essential, but the large scale of the business requires significant budget and labor costs.
In particular, precise inspection and diagnosis of tunnels and bridges, which are difficult for inspectors to approach closely, require a large number of personnel and equipment.
With the establishment of a drone control system, inspections can be conducted using drones equipped with ultra-precise cameras and infrared sensors. The captured video information will be transmitted in real time and analyzed using computer vision and big data processing technologies for precise diagnosis of structures. This is expected to reduce manpower and costs and enhance worker safety.
Institutions such as Korea Railroad Corporation and Korea Electric Power Corporation are also utilizing drones in their operations.
Through the business agreement, both parties will strive to jointly develop management models including the drone control system.
Seoul Metro will conduct field inspections, data collection, and utilize relevant facilities, while Clover Studio will collaborate on building the drone control system, verification environment, and infrastructure management model using the collected data.
Additionally, both parties plan to jointly conduct feasibility studies and demonstration projects for expanding application to other infrastructures such as power facilities and explore plans to establish a drone control center integrated with subway control.
Head of Technology Kim Seong-ryeol said, “Cooperation with Clover Studio, a specialist in drone control systems, is expected to enable the establishment of a drone control system and allow safer and more precise safety management. Seoul Metro will continue to introduce various technologies and strive to provide safe transportation services.”
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