The Québec-Seoul 2024 aerospace scientific mission, in which Jean-Marc Frayret, professor at Polytechnique Montréal and research director of the SDG Institute for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), took place from October 28th to November 1st, 2024. Concordia University, École de Technologies Supérieures and CRIAQ were also represented on this mission, whose main objective was to explore the Korean innovation ecosystem of Urban Air Mobility (UAM). The mission enabled the Québec delegation to meet key institutions such as KAIST and KAU universities, the KARI and KITECH research centers, KIAST, an institute specializing in safety and certification in the aerospace sector, and local government bodies involved in UAM. The mission concluded with the Québec delegates taking part in K-UAM Confex, an international forum on UAM organized by UAM Team Korea.
South Korea’s progress in Urban Air Mobility
One of the main lessons learned from this mission is that South Korea is well ahead of Québec and Canada in the development and adoption of UAM. The establishment of the UAM Team Korea in 2020 has enabled the development of an ambitious roadmap for the adoption of UAM, the Grand Challenge project. This project involves numerous industrial, academic and government players, as well as research centers, specialized institutes and other players in the aerospace ecosystem. The project plans to test eVTOL urban flights by the end of 2025. The Korean UAM ecosystem is thus based on close collaboration between numerous public and private players, coordinated by the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, creating a model for effective UAM integration.
Opportunities for collaboration with South Korea
The mission identified several potential collaborations between Québec and South Korea. In particular, KAIST University (a member of UAM Team Korea) expressed interest in collaborating with Québec to develop an intelligent hangar for UAM, using smart sensors for automatic detection of vehicle structural problems. KARI (an executive member of UAM Team Korea) is currently building a highly advanced digital twin, with several digital simulation models of various complementary aspects of the UAM already integrated. KARI also offers very interesting avenues for technological partnerships, notably with the SDG-AAM Institute. KITECH is a research center dedicated to helping small and medium-sized businesses with their R&D needs. Although KITECH is not directly a member of UAM Team Korea, it is also positioning itself as a key partner for the application of artificial intelligence in the air mobility of the future, 3D printing, and the development of advanced materials for AAM.
KAIST university
Korea Aerospace University
K-UAM Confex: A Forum for International Collaboration
Participation in K-UAM Confex provided a valuable platform for exchange and networking with AAM experts and players from around the world. Presentations by some of Korea’s leading players in this sector highlighted their determination, commitment and development efforts. Hyundai’s Supernal company presented its eVTOL concept. Hyundai also presented its smart city project, incorporating a highly advanced urban mobility model combining AAM and Hyperloop. SK Telecom emphasized the essential role of telecoms infrastructures in the AAM ecosystem, particularly in the development of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) solutions. K-UAM Confex also provided an opportunity to meet British and German academic researchers, with whom collaborative projects are already being developed with the SDG-AAM Institute, as well as companies involved in the design and operation of vertiports and UAV/eVTOLs, including Skyport and UrbanV. These companies are each involved in numerous international vertiport development projects, notably at the airports of Paris, Munich and Rome. This forum for exchange and networking provided a better understanding of the global challenges facing the adoption of MAA, as well as some of the strategies being implemented to overcome them.
Recommendations for Québec and Canada
Overall, the mission identified several key recommendations for Québec. Firstly, in order to catch up, Québec and Canada should set up an “AAM Team Québec/Canada” to coordinate local and national efforts, mobilize industry, government and academic players, and develop a structuring initiative and a Québec and Canadian roadmap for AAM adoption that reflects our society, needs, constraints and mobility market. Identifying relevant use cases for Québec and Canada, such as air taxis or emergency services for isolated regions and disaster zones, is an essential step in the adoption of AAM.
Secondly, setting up a test site in Québec to validate and test technologies, study and improve the user experience, and optimize the operational processes of such services would enable Québec not only to test its own AAM adoption approaches, but also to position itself in Canada and internationally to help urban centers, eVTOL and vertiport operators, and manufacturers develop, test and evaluate their own adoption strategies, and for vehicle certification.
Jean-Marc Frayret
2024-11-21
