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SEOUL-This excitement is not exactly in line with the Apollo moon landing, but with South Korea's test flight of flying taxis on Thursday, the excitement is very close.

A hanger at Seoul Gimpo Airport was reused as an exhibition space, filled with virtual reality flight simulators, urban air transportation (UAM) solution models from multiple companies and research institutions, and "vertical airport" models.

A large number of VIPs, journalists and tech geeks gathered to watch this spectacle. After the necessary speeches, as a German-made UAM aircraft piloted by Switzerland ascended into the sky above the Gimpo runway and parked passenger planes, orchestral music sounded.

Amidst the chorus of "oh" and "ah" and the click of a thousand shutters, the vehicle made a moderate aerial circuit on the building before returning.

After the drone-like vehicle landed gently, the participants flocked to the tarmac to congratulate the pilot-of course, they also took selfies with him and his machine.

A similar technology was demonstrated in downtown Seoul last year-even though there were no real people in the car. Thursday’s event provided a second proof of concept, showing that the vehicle can not only fly safely, but can also synchronize its electronic suite with the air traffic management (ATM) system of a world-class airport.

This means that the national plan for the use of air taxis is underway. The first phase of deployment of the plan will start in 2025 between the two airports in Seoul to and from the city center.

Subsequent stages will follow, and the final result is that autonomous flying cars will fly passengers across the city sky from point to point.

Although South Korea has an avid tech populace and a national habit of quickly adopting futuristic gadgets, it is unlikely to be the first country to launch the service globally or regionally.

A Seoul official said that although companies all over the world are producing UAM vehicles, only two companies are willing to provide them for test flights: China's Yihang and Germany's Velocopter.

The official said that although South Korean conglomerates Hyundai Motor and Hanwha are both building UAM prototypes, their products are unlikely to be ready for the cloud before 2023.

Since the demonstration in Seoul last year used EHang vehicles, this time the aircraft machine won the honor. The battery-powered UAM solution can travel at a speed of 110 km/h, a range of 35 km, and a payload of 400 pounds (180 kg).

Florian Reuter, CEO of Velocopter, said: "The industry is at an exciting turning point, so we are very happy to be here and get personal participation." "This is a milestone."

Officials said that Velocopter has established partnerships with companies such as German automaker Daimler, Japan Airlines JAL, and American chipmaker Micron. It produces delivery drones and UAM vehicles, which explains another corporate partnership with logistics company DB Shenker.  

Due to the need to embed a wide range of security protocols and the need to generate public trust in UAM in advance, the widely discussed autonomous cockpit-basically a civilian version of a military unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV-is currently out of the scope of discussion .

"No country in the world allows unmanned flying," said Helena Treeck, head of public relations at Velocopter.

Although Treeck expects EU regulators to give the green light to driverless UAM around 2035, the industry is currently focusing on piloting UAM solutions.

Given that the old-fashioned helicopter can accomplish all the things that the current generation of UAM vertical take-off and landing aircraft can do-what makes the new aircraft a game changer?

Tricker explained that cost is the most important thing. Although helicopter taxis are the patent of the wealthy, the use of drone technology in the UAM field makes the vehicles easier to maintain and therefore more economical than helicopters.

Treeck said that when UAM vehicles shift to mass production, price competitiveness will be improved. She said that for end users, UAM fares will be "approximately the same as premium taxis."

Due to the battery power supply, UAM vehicles are not only clean, but also low noise. "Eighteen small rotors are quieter than one large rotor," she said. She pointed out that this is critical because many cities around the world have noise regulations, and the operating ceiling of flying taxis will be much lower than that of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.

Then there is security. "The level of security we designed is for passenger aircraft," Tricker said. This gold standard certification is crucial, "because we fly over densely populated areas."

Compared with helicopters, the use of high-tech materials also makes UAM vehicles lighter, more economical, and more flexible in landing options.

South Korea established a working group of six government agencies in June 2020 to plan the country's UAM strategy. Nah Jing-hang, Director of the UAV Transportation Department of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of South Korea explained to the Asia Times the plan to establish a UAM ecosystem in Seoul in stages.

Nah said that starting from 2025, unmanned unmanned aerial vehicles will be put into use. Starting in 2030, the industry is expected to shift to long-range flying vehicles-making more space for passengers and luggage. Starting in 2035, aircraft will be completely autonomous.

This is the technical blueprint. The second road map—or rather, the aerial map—is in the service expansion. Nah said the two plans must be "step by step, side by side."

From 2025 to 2030, the plan is to move the aircraft along a 300-600 meter wide area between Seoul’s two airports—Incheon (international) and Gimpo (mainly domestic)—and the "vertical airport" network in the city center. Dedicated air corridor flight. "

Starting in 2030, as flying taxis fly around different vertical take-off and landing sites in the Seoul area, the use will be expanded instead of being limited to the airport-urban corridor. These VTOLs are likely to be built on or near transportation hubs, such as railway or subway stations.

Finally, after 2035, there will be peer-to-peer services, in which air taxis operate like ground taxis, picking up and dropping off customers throughout the city, but detailed information must be formulated.

In addition to flying along dedicated air corridors, verticality will also be used to reduce conflicts among airspace users.

Fixed-wing aircraft will be at the top of verticality; helicopters below them; UAM vehicles below them; and finally, delivery drones will occupy the lowest ceiling.

Nah said that with regard to air traffic management, South Korea’s existing 5G mobile telecommunications have the appropriate bandwidth to manage UAM traffic without the need to create a dedicated network.

Officials said that in addition to these conflict elimination mechanisms, UAM manufacturers are also embedding sensors in their vehicles as fail-safe.

In terms of pilot training, professionalism will be the most important-this means that taxi drivers are unlikely to transition from the road to the sky.

"The first batch of pilots will receive a civil aviation license," Nah said-although UAM vehicles are "easier to operate than helicopters."

Looking to the future, private citizens may need to own a private flying car. However, anticipated technological advancements may eliminate this predicted trend.

"By then, UAM vehicles may be completely autonomous," Nah said. 

Nah said that the flying taxi industry will not become a monopoly. The benchmark is civil aviation, and many companies fly models of different sizes and pay for the use of the vertical take-off and landing field.

Nah said that although the Korean airport company demonstrated the vertical take-off and landing field model at the event, KAC will not be their exclusive operator.

KAC officials participating in the event stated that there are plans to build four vertical take-off and landing sites in 2025: one at Incheon Airport, one at Gimpo Airport, one at the Cheongyang-ri Railway and Metro Transportation Hub in the north of Seoul, and one at the Sancheng Railway Transportation and Transportation Center in the south. Convention center hub. Seoul.

Their five-story facility will include five landing/take-off spaces and 50 UAM taxi parking spaces. It is different from the taxi rank, but like the airport, the passengers and their luggage need to be checked for weight and security.

The official said that in addition to the phased expansion of the vertical airport in Seoul, facilities in the capital's satellite cities will also increase.

Regarding the long-term goal of true taxi-style peer-to-peer fares, Tricker said her company has received inquiries from real estate developers to include landing space in their buildings.

The Asia Times has learned that in South Korea, the roofs of countless high-rise buildings in Seoul-many of which have helipads that are rarely or never used-will be ideal pick-up points.

South Korean conglomerates Hanwha and Hyundai Motor have both participated in the UAM field. Both showed off at the event-but not flying-prototypes.

Hanwha’s quad-rotor “Butterfly” drone carries a pilot and five passengers. Yun Hun-woo, head of the company's UAM business development team, said that this South Korean company with strength in the energy and defense fields has invested in UAM in the United States and plans to obtain FAA certification by 2025.

Yun said that UAM is "the top priority of the Hanwha Group." He added that the South Korean government “wants to become the leader of UAM in Asia”.

Currently, Germany's Velocopter and China's Ehang may be ahead of companies in the automotive field, but another game is deciding which country or city will launch commercial UAM services first.

Officials from Velocopter interviewed by the Asia Times at the event believed that the current leader is Paris or Singapore. But Paris has a special impetus: it vowed to provide commercial UAM services before the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

In view of this, it is expected that the French capital will take the lead. Of course, the Velocopter staff said that their purpose was the same, and they said they were working closely with the city.

"As long as the government and regulatory agencies are involved, the opportunities are great," Tricker said. "You need everyone on the table."

Nah and his colleagues are watching the progress of Paris with interest. He said that South Korea’s ATM and regulatory framework are closer to the FAA than to the European Union’s European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), but Seoul is flexible in benchmarking all solutions.

Obviously, the public mind is attracted by the potential of UAM. In addition to overcoming congestion, UAM also provides adventure and the beauty of seeing the city from the air.

"Visitors will be able to see the city from a new perspective," Tricker said. "UAM is more stable, quieter and safer than helicopters."

Her statement was supported by Swiss test pilot Damian Hachiel. "This is a smooth journey," he said.

The flight limit may vary from city to city. "In New York, they may fly higher than Paris," Tricker pointed out.

Nonetheless, Seoul’s MOLIT program shows that UAM solutions will fly at lower altitudes than helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft — and visually more impressive.

All of this raises a big question. Given the huge potential of the industry, why are regulators around the world so cautiously launching existing effective technologies?

"The main issue is safety," Nah said-he quoted a Korean proverb: "Even if you have a stone bridge, you should check it before crossing it."

Along with the public's strong interest in manned and autonomous unmanned air traffic systems, the public also has a strong concern about accidents. Any collapse may receive widespread media attention, which may hinder the entire project.

"If there is an accident with our UAM, it will hinder the future adoption of UAM," Nah said. "So, to some extent, slow is fast."

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