[Edaily Reporter Yun Junghoon ]KTCorporation(030200)has partnered with Incheon Metropolitan City and other entities to successfully conduct South Korea’s first public Urban Air Mobility (UAM) demonstration flight connecting island regions. By thoroughly validating a hybrid aviation network—which combines artificial intelligence (AI)-based traffic management technology with satellite communications—in a real-world maritime environment, the project has signaled a green light for the commercialization of transportation innovations in island and mountainous regions.

On the 21st, KTCorporation (CEO Park Yoon-young) announced that it had successfully completed a public UAM demonstration in the island regions of Incheon in collaboration with Incheon Metropolitan City, the Aerospace Industry-Academia Convergence Institute, and the K-UAM One Team (KTCorporation, HyundaiMotor, HyundaiEngineering&Construction, Incheon International Airport Corporation, and KoreanAirLines).

This demonstration was carried out based on the integrated operational capabilities accumulated through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute’s “K-UAM Grand Challenge.” It took place on a route connecting Yeongjong Island (Geojampo and Wangsan Marina) and Deokjeok Island, focusing on finalizing the details and verifying the effectiveness of public UAM flight routes designed to dramatically improve transportation accessibility for residents of island communities.

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‘UAM Agent’ with AI-Assisted Decision-Making… 100% Success Rate in Maritime Communications

Since UAM involves numerous aircraft operating simultaneously in low-altitude airspace, a sophisticated traffic management system is essential to coordinate everything from flight plans and weather information to the operational status of takeoff and landing facilities (vertiports) in real time.

In this demonstration, KTCorporation introduced its proprietary “UAM Agent-based Traffic Management AX Platform” to validate AI-based decision-making support capabilities throughout the entire process, from flight planning to landing. The UAM Agent analyzes flight information in real time using AI to suggest optimal departure and arrival times, and supports air traffic controllers by providing standard operating procedures (SOPs) and response plans for various emergency situations.

In particular, the company demonstrated a technical solution to overcome the limitations of island and maritime environments, where communication dead zones are prone to occur. KTCorporation established a “5G-Satellite Hybrid Communication System” that combines KTCorporation SAT’s satellite communications with a UAM-dedicated 5G aviation network in the 800 MHz band. As a result, it transmitted aircraft location data seamlessly throughout the entire flight route and achieved a 100% communication success rate. It also maintained stable voice communication quality even over the ocean, successfully facilitating real-time communication between pilots and air traffic controllers.

"Presenting a Public-Sector UAM Model to Solve Regional Transportation Issues"

This project is regarded as the first instance in Korea where the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, local governments, and private companies collaborated to expand the achievements of the Grand Challenge into actual regional public services. It is expected to establish itself as a viable alternative to existing island transportation methods, which have primarily relied on ships.

Won Man-ho, Head of KTCorporation’s AX Platform Division, stated, “This demonstration in the Incheon island region is a meaningful achievement in which the private sector, government, and public institutions jointly confirmed the potential of a public-sector UAM operating model to solve regional transportation issues.” He added, “Moving forward, we will continue to lead the commercialization of UAM in South Korea based on close collaboration with the UAM Traffic Management AX Platform, the 5G-satellite hybrid aviation network, and the K-UAM One Team.”