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On the 11th, Yeouido Hangang Park in Seoul. As the 5.6m wide and 1.77m high drone floated in the sky, elasticity exploded everywhere. This drone, which flew 3.6 km between the Mapo bridge and the Sogang bridge, was the ‘EH216’ of the Chinese company Lee Hang. That’s why a voice came out saying: “It would have been better if it were a drone made by our company.”
The reason why the host government and the Seoul city government chose Chinese products is simple. This is because the only product on the market is a binomial drone. Hyundai Motor Company and Hanwha Systems displayed models in development at the site that day. An industry source said: “Korea’s drone taxi technology is four to five years behind China’s. If this gap cannot be narrowed in a few years, it will give China market leadership in urban aviation, which is expected to reach 1.7 trillion won per year by 2040. I was concerned.
At the ‘Drone Taxi Flight Demonstration Event’ held by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation on the 11th at the southern end of Seoul’s Mapo Bridge, a company’s drone ‘EH216’ china flies over the sky. / Reporter Kang Eun-gu egkang @ hankyung.
A Chinese company that developed drone taxis 8 years ago
The EH216, developed by Lee Hang in 2018, has 16 rotors (rotating blades) that rotate to float the aircraft in the sky and move the aircraft forward, backward, left and right by varying the rotational speed. of each rotor. The source of energy is the battery. It can carry up to 220 kg and fly 35 km at a maximum speed of 130 km per hour. Unmanned control is also possible. So far, it has accumulated a large amount of data on more than 2,000 manned flights. In Australia, Canada and the United Arab Emirates the unit was sold for $ 300,000 (about 330 million won).
Lee Hang, which manufactured the EH216, is rated as having the best personal vehicle manufacturing technology in the world. It is the first company to present the possibility of urban air mobility (UAM). It started developing a personal vehicle in 2012, and in 2016 CES first introduced the EH184, which attracted attention. Inspired by this, global companies and startups began to develop personal vehicles. Until then, there weren’t high expectations that drones would be used as taxis. Currently, more than 300 companies, including Boeing, Airbus, Uber, Toyota, Audi and Mercedes-Benz, are investing in the UAM market.
The results are also displayed. The German company Volocopter completed a prototype in 2011 and it was successful in manned and unmanned flights. It is preparing for commercialization next year. US Jovi is checking flight performance with NASA. Skydrive, a Japanese venture company, was also successful in a test flight.
According to Morgan Stanley, the UAM market is expected to grow rapidly to $ 332.1 billion in 2030 and $ 1.473.9 billion in 2040.
Korea, 4-5 years behind Chinese companies
Among Korean companies, Hyundai Motor Company and Hanwha Systems are developing personal vehicles. Last year, Hyundai Motor Company created the Urban Aviation Division and hired NASA Vice President Shin Jae-won. Earlier this year, CES also introduced the Personal Vehicle Concept Model (SA-1). The goal is to commercialize it in 2028. Hyundai Motor Group President Eui-sun Eui-sun said UAM is one of the top three foods in the future. Hanwha Systems is also developing a personal vehicle in partnership with Overair, a US company.
The industry notes that it is urgent to foster related industrial ecosystems for Korean companies to lead the global urban aviation market. China has completed the parts ecosystem by dominating the small drone market. 70% of the global drone market is dominated by the Chinese company DJI.
An official from the drone industry said: “In Shenzhen, China, there are 400 major spare parts companies, and manufacturers like Lee Hang mainly use Chinese-made parts,” said an official from the drone industry. “In Korea, drones are not expected to grow as one of the future mobility devices. We have not been able to grow the industrial ecosystem.” Even if Hyundai Motor Company and Hanwha Systems are successful in developing the aircraft, the main parts they are inevitably imported from the US, Europe and China.
There is no expectation that the search is not impossible. This is because Hyundai Motor Company and others have mass production know-how, and Korea owns the world’s best technology in the field of energy, such as hydrogen fuel cells and batteries. Some reviews say that the models being developed by Hyundai Motor Company and Hanwha Systems are different from existing aircraft and are competitive. The products that both companies are developing are models with wings (fixed wing). The flight distance is longer and safer.
Vice President Shin Jae-won said, “Hyundai Motor is the world’s fifth-largest automaker,” emphasizing, “If urban aviation becomes a daily routine, companies that are good at mass production will eventually take over. initiative, and Hyundai Motor is competitive enough. “
Reporter Do Byeong-wook [email protected]
