LG Uplus has been selected as the company to carry out the government-led project designed to verify drone safety, the firm announced. The project, supervised by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and managed by the Korea Institute of Aviation Safety and Technology, is to test drones in designated air spaces before they are utilized more broadly.
The tests will be conducted in various conditions including at night and at high altitudes.
The firm will test drones that will be used to inspect safety of facilities, carry out a national land survey, patrol towns and spray agricultural chemicals, the firm said.
“LG Uplus will test drones in seven areas designated by the ministry from May to December,” a company official said.
The seven areas are Yeongwol in Gangwon Province, Dalseong in Daegu, Goheung in South Jeolla Province, Jeonju in North Jeolla Province, Goseong in South Gyeongsang Province, Yeongdo in Busan and Boeun in North Chungcheong Province.
For the tests, LG Uplus has formed partnerships with five companies, including local drone maker JY System.
“During the tests, we will monitor the safety of transmission towers and lines in cooperation with the JY System,” the official said.
The partners will also cooperate in testing drones’ picture-archiving system using cloud-based technologies for missions such as searches for missing persons or criminal suspects.
Hanwha Precision Machinery, one of the partners, will support tests of spraying agricultural chemicals.
LG Uplus will also conduct tests to secure its own technologies to produce a 3D map and study the characteristics of radio waves of long-term evolution (LTE) networks, the firm added.
“We will be able to demonstrate commercial services using drones,” said Choi Chang-kuk, vice president of the firm’s future service unit. “We expect the project to vitalize the drone market.”
LG Uplus is the nation’s third-largest mobile carrier.
Source: The Korea Times