Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Supports Safe Drone Flight to Secure Technology Competitiveness
Pilot Project Launched in Response to Growing Demand for Drone Maps and Navigation Systems

Airspace for drones is now opening.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Minister Kang Ho-in) announced that it is promoting the construction of dedicated "drone corridors" for drones to enhance safety management and accident prevention as the applications of drones in logistics transport, disaster safety, agriculture and other fields continue to expand.

Drone corridors refer to drone flight paths based on three-dimensional spatial information—a new concept that includes "three-dimensional precision spatial data" necessary for safe drone flight and "obstacle information that interferes with flight."

< Conceptual Diagram of Three-Dimensional Grid-Based Drone Corridor >

Currently, two-dimensional maps are being used for drone flights, but the absence of information regarding terrain elevation and obstacles such as transmission towers, utility poles, and high-voltage lines is causing difficulties in safely operating drones.

In particular, in the logistics transport sector, as interest in new industrial applications utilizing drones increases, there is a growing demand for drone maps and navigation systems for safe urban flight.

As drone operations are expected to expand from visual flight rules to beyond-visual-line-of-sight autonomous flight, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is promoting a pilot project for three-dimensional precision maps for drone corridors that express obstacle information to support safe drone flight.


< Applications of Three-Dimensional Grid-Based Drone Corridor >

Through this pilot project, the Ministry will research specific implementation plans for nationwide drone corridor construction and methods for introducing three-dimensional spatial grid systems, while also pursuing technology development for constructing three-dimensional spatial grids and implementing drone corridors.

A three-dimensional spatial grid system is a spatial information model that represents space as three-dimensional grids by integrating data on living spaces, society, and natural phenomena, and is divided into sections so that diverse information (such as drone corridors) can be constructed for each grid.

Taking the Lead in Activating Commercial Drones in Urban Areas

Furthermore, from the five airspaces designated in the Ministry's "Drone Safety Verification Pilot Project" (December 2015)—Busan, Daegu, Jeonju, Yeongwol, and Goheung—two target areas, Jeonju and Yeongwol, have been selected to construct pilot spatial information necessary for research and apply the developed technology.

Meanwhile, on July 15th, the Ministry held a flight demonstration in Jeonju to verify obstacle information necessary for safe drone flight and factors hindering drone autonomous flight. By year-end, the Ministry plans to apply the pilot project results to logistics transport and conduct pilot operations for beyond-visual-line-of-sight autonomous drone operations.

The Ministry stated, "The concept of three-dimensional grid-based drone corridors, which is the core of this research, is still in the idea stage internationally. With proactive technology development and early commercialization, Korea can take the lead over competitor nations in activating commercial drones in urban areas, thereby contributing to the creation of new industries and jobs in alignment with the Government 3.0 policy."