A team of Korean Air Lines Co., Hyundai Motor Co., and KT Corp. has successfully validated an integrated urban air mobility (UAM) operational system using a 5G aviation communication network for the first time in the world.

Korean Air announced Wednesday the successful completion of the initial phase of the Korea Urban Air Mobility (K-UAM) Grand Challenge, in collaboration with Hyundai Motor, KT, Incheon International Airport Corp., and Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co.

The K-UAM Grand Challenge, a joint public-private project led by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, aims to verify aircraft safety and establish operational concepts and technical standards tailored to domestic conditions for UAM commercialization in Korea by next year.

Korean Air, Hyundai Motor, KT, Hyundai E&C, and Incheon International Airport formed the consortium to participate in the first phase of the K-UAM Grand Challenge.

The participants validated stability across various operational scenarios for commercialization and measured noise to determine urban entry ranges.

In their assessment of the first phase completion, the consortium confirmed the successful integration of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), UAM operational systems, and 5G aviation networks for the first time.

KT established a platform system to process and share transportation and safety data required for flights in real-time.

Over 100 million pieces of data generated during the demonstration period, including UAM flight plans, locations, alerts, and weather, were processed and shared in real-time for use by other systems.

Hyundai Motor developed a mobility as a service (MaaS) platform connecting UAM with ground mobility services, demonstrating the process of linking various mobility options for passengers from departure to final destination.

Korean Air conducted functionality and performance checks of operational systems by executing 10 scenarios under normal and abnormal conditions.

Hyundai E&C conducted congestion and pedestrian system simulation analyses to advance the design and construction technology of UAM vertical landing sites.

The consortium plans to enhance systems based on the analysis of the first phase result to ensure safe UAM operation in high-density operating environments.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor announced the launch of the logistics-specialized electric models, ST1 Cargo and ST1 Cargo Refrigerated.

ST1 is a chassis cab-based electric commercial vehicle with versatile functionality. The chassis cab vehicle refers to a vehicle frame and a cab without a rear cargo compartment.

The ST1 can be adapted for various purposes such as police operation vehicles, emergency rescue vehicles, camping cars, bike charging vehicles, mobile smart farms, and pet care shops.

Hyundai Motor gathered feedback on delivery challenges through collaboration with domestic logistics and retailers, including CJ Logistics Corp., Lotte, and Kurly Inc.

The ST1 Cargo offers a driving range of 317 kilometers in a single charge, marking a 50 percent increase compared to the existing electric commercial vehicle, Porter 2 Electric.

By Cho Yun-hee, Moon Gwang-min and Chang Iou-chung

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