With the founding of the worldwide Association for Advanced Air Mobility, or G3AM, South Korea took a leadership stand in Air Mobility Standardization within the worldwide advanced air mobility industry. With aerospace engineering and various aviation technologies in air transportation, the goal here is to maintain international standards to ensure sustainability and reliability. The present scenario appears to be the right time for South Korea to take the lead in AAM standardization since many associated leaders are leading their own revolutions of innovation from their respective geographical regions.
This Ministry of Science and ICT gave its word that the leadership stance through G3AM is the first global association for AAM standardization. Nearly 67 leading companies, including the US companies, namely OneSky, Padina Group, and ANRA Technologies, the UK-based Skyports, and Korean enterprises like Korean Air, Hanwha Systems, Hyundai Motor, SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus, have joined this alliance to share their leadership expertise and capabilities for AAM. Other industry behemoths, like Joby Aviation and Volocopter, are considering whether to join the G3AM or not.
Generally, global association leaders are known for knowing their way around deploying technologies like data, mobile communication, artificial intelligence, and other technologies. Even still, the ministry reminded the leaders that it is necessary to obtain international standards for sustainability and reliability. While interoperability and compatibility are already covered under these standards, the G3AM now welcomes leaders to create and share new standards for the AAM sector around information-sharing systems, traffic management and control, and essential navigation capabilities and performances. Exchanging experience and expertise appears to be happening on a mainstream level in the AAM sector at present.
Agency Leaders Are Coming Together to Exchange their Expertise
The leadership bodies under the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Korea Office of Civil Aviation (KOCA) shook hands on developing and operating Advanced Air Mobility aircraft in the future.
In this collaboration, the two are expected to share their knowledge and experience around advanced air mobility, and support the promotion of these projects' safety monitoring.
Under shared responsibilities, the leaders are expected to lead AAM initiatives and issuance of common interest, as well as to exchange ideas, information, skills, and practices.
This type of collaboration is even becoming a norm among companies and industry leaders who are competing against each other to create, design and eventually obtain regulatory clearance for the use of electric vertical take-off and landing (EVL) aircraft, which are low-altitude air taxis as they are in the trend now.
To harmonize certification and integration plans for advanced air mobility projects, the heads at FAA previously announced similar agreements with Japan, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in the National Aviation Authorities Network.
It even appears as the best solution to deal with traffic, in which airlines and other transportation creative ventures are exploring their way out in inventing vertical take-off and landing battery-powered aircraft to transport passengers to airports or on quick city-to-city flights.
However, to acquire a certification that allows the operation of M001 air taxi, companies must pass the requirements passed down by the FAA last year.
Enthusiasm Among Industry Leaders
Industry leaders such as Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC), and Korea Telecom (KT) have also joined this ride with Korean Air.
These leadership bodies have already cleared one target as a part of the first stage of the Korean Urban Air Mobility (K-UAM) Grand Challenge. Their capabilities were showcased by the Goheung Aviation Test Centre in South Jeolla Province for five weeks starting on March 11.
The leaders of Korean Air, on the other hand, effectively validated its urban air mobility (UAM) system thanks to the 5G aviation communication network to connect the electric vertical take-off and landing (e-VTOL) aircraft with the UAM operational systems. It was able to prove the reliability and efficiency of its in-house built proprietary UAM Operation Control System and Traffic Management System by employing the airline's operating knowledge. On a side note, these techniques guarantee effective and safe urban aviation overall.
Not only that, Korean Air demonstrated the operation and performance of the operational systems in 10 scenarios, including routine and abnormal ones. The details collected from these situations are believed to help improve the systems and guarantee secure UAM operations in densely populated urban areas.
Moreover, a Memorandum of Understanding was inked between the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) to assess the viability of complete UAM operations in Korea. To maintain the growth of the UAM ecosystem in Korea, Korean Air is said to continue working on a variety of urban air mobility projects and validating and improving UAM concepts and procedures that have been created by the government.
Tailwinds Blowing for Leaders
Within the aviation sector, one of the fastest-expanding segments is the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) market. Anticipated to reach a valuation of more than $36.9 billion in the Asia-Pacific area by 2050, the AAM market presents a wealth of remarkable prospects, swift expansion, and captivating advancements for the global flying industry.
Increasing air mobility contributes to the establishment of safe, reasonably priced air transportation networks by facilitating the movement of people and goods in emerging aviation marketplaces. Operators will be able to perform safe, trustworthy, and silent vertical flights thanks to increased aerial mobility.
Globally, the market for improved aerial transportation is growing rapidly. An increasing urban transportation viewpoint and rising end-user needs for expedited courier services are two major drivers propelling the international industry's growth.
Furthermore, fast industrialization and urbanization necessitate the need for reasonably priced and efficient alternate forms of transportation due to growing environmental issues and traffic jams. Politicians must enact rules and regulations to encourage alternate urban transportation options. The market for air travel is expanding as a result, which will be highly beneficial in many locations. Aviation authorities around the world allow postal and courier enterprises to use aircraft to expedite courier services.