Drones World Editor Kartikeya In Conversation with Kwang Oh Moon, Principal Researcher and Head of Future Technology Team, Korean Air’s Aerospace R&D Center.
Drones World (DW): What was the most significant, unexpected safety risk identified during the Phase 2 flights in the metropolitan corridor, and how did the ACROSS system specifically mitigate it?
Kwang Oh Moon (KOM): The most critical safety risk was the operational integration with Gimpo Airport (GMP), which handles about 400 conventional aircraft movements daily. The primary challenge was ensuring safe separation and executing precise air traffic control (ATC) handovers as a UAV entered this heavily utilized airspace.
Korean Air’s ACROSS (Air Control and Routing Orchestrated Skyway System) platform addressed this by providing real-time monitoring and tracking of all assets—the demonstrator aircraft, simulated traffic, and active commercial flights. This comprehensive trajectory and status data was fed directly to controllers. Most critically, we stationed an experienced controller within Gimpo Tower to seamlessly integrate conventional ATC data with the new UAV control data, enabling appropriate and timely intervention.
DW: The demonstration involved seamless handovers between multiple operators. What was the key technical or protocol breakthrough that made this possible, and how does it differ from traditional air traffic control?
KOM: In Phase 2, control transfers were of two types. Transfers between ATC and UAV traffic management relied on voice-based manual procedures, mirroring conventional protocols due to current regulatory frameworks.
The key breakthrough was for transfers between different UAV service providers (PSUs). This utilized an Information Sharing System that enabled real-time sharing of flight plans, trajectories, and vertiport status, facilitating automated handovers across all flight phases. This differs fundamentally from traditional, voice-centric ATC managed by a single entity.
Looking ahead, this system anticipates a decentralized, automated future and is designed to integrate with global System-Wide Information Management (SWIM) frameworks. A notable achievement was also the successful trial of data-link-based control over 5G, showing clear potential to reduce voice workload.
DW: Can you provide a specific example of an “unexpected or abnormal situation” you simulated, and how ACROSS automatically provided an alternative routing to ensure operational stability?
KOM: We simulated various contingencies, including navigation failure, loss of communication, and vertiport unavailability. ACROSS continuously monitors flight status by fusing transponder and ground radar data to inform control actions. While automatic rerouting was not tested in Phase 2, alternative landing sites are pre-determined in planning.
The critical enhancement for future phases is the integration of a Dynamic Corridor Generation function. This feature will automatically generate in-flight alternate routes based on real-time factors like ground risk and aircraft performance, forming the core of robust contingency management.
DW: How did Korean Air’s decades of experience as a scheduled airline directly influence the design and operational philosophy of the ACROSS platform, beyond just traffic management?
KOM: Our airline experience extended ACROSS’s scope far beyond basic traffic management. To ensure true operational capability, we integrated critical airline functions: ground handling protocols, maintenance procedures, parts management, optimal scheduling, and vertiport integration. Our history in both developing and operating UAVs highlighted the necessity for truly integrated management.
This informed a design philosophy centered on fundamental airline imperatives: system redundancy, high reliability, and scalability. These principles are embedded in the ACROSS architecture, ensuring it meets the rigorous standards of commercial airline operations.
DW: Based on the Phase 2 data, what is the single biggest regulatory or technical hurdle that must be cleared before we see the first commercial passenger routes in Korea?
KOM: The primary challenges are in the policy and regulatory domains: establishing practical frameworks for flight procedures, control protocols, and personnel licensing.
Technically, ensuring the scalability and reliability of control system automation is significant, as vertiports will be dispersed across cities. Establishing standardized data exchange and robust security frameworks between different operators is also critical.
Ultimately, the most crucial prerequisite is the smooth Type Certification of eVTOL aircraft, followed by their deployment in public sector pilot operations to rigorously verify utility and safety before launching commercial services.
DW: How does the consortium structure, which includes competitors like Hyundai, accelerate progress in a way that a single-company approach could not?
KOM: Building a UAM ecosystem cannot be achieved by any single entity. Our “One Team” consortium unites specialized experts to rapidly build a robust ecosystem:
- Hyundai Motor Company: eVTOL development.
- Korean Air: Aircraft development, MRO, and operational expertise.
- Incheon International Airport Corporation: Hub operation expertise.
- KT: 5G communication infrastructure.
- Hyundai Engineering & Construction: Construction and infrastructure.
By aggregating these core competencies, we cover all critical ecosystem functions, ensuring a safer and more efficient build-out than any single-company effort could.
DW: What specific new capability will be the primary focus for enhancing ACROSS in the next phase of the Grand Challenge?
KOM: Our focus is the progressive refinement of core functionalities, aligned with global ConOps from partners like Supernal and Skyports to ensure interoperability.
High-priority capabilities include:
- Risk-based dynamic corridor generation to move beyond static paths.
- Reliable trajectory tracking algorithms and Safety Net integration.
- Enhanced interoperability with vertiport and broader UTM ecosystems.
This evolution is underpinned by establishing a permanent testing and verification framework in collaboration with local helicopter operators to ensure sustained validation of these critical technologies.
