From theory and pilot training to agricultural drone rental

KT announced that it will open the 'KT Giga Island Drone Training Center' on Imjado Island, Sinan-gun, Jeollanam-do and conduct drone training for residents of Imjado Island and Sinan-gun.

The opening ceremony held at the Imja Mannatne Experience Center, a village enterprise in Imjado, was attended by KT Sustainable Management Team Director Lee Seon-ju, Shinan County Council Member Joo Yoon-deok, Shinan County Welfare Foundation Director Jeong Eon-ho, Imja-myeon Mayor Na Tae-ju, Imja Elementary School Principal Moon Hee-sook, Imja Senior Citizens Association President Nam Jeong-su, Imja Mannatne Chairman Jeong Chang-il, and Imjado residents.

KT and the Community Chest of Korea have been preparing a training center for drone education necessary for real life since July at the request of Imjado residents. The drone training center, located on the rooftop of the third floor of the Imjamannatne Experience Center, is equipped with facilities such as a theory learning center, a practical experience center, and a simulation center.

About 80% of Imjado residents are engaged in agriculture, but they have had difficulty spraying pesticides due to the aging population and lack of manpower. Residents have recently been spraying pesticides with unmanned helicopters, but they have had many concerns, such as the high operating cost and the damage to some crops due to the vortex (eddy current) generated by the helicopter propeller. In comparison, the price of agricultural drones is 10-25% of that of unmanned helicopters, and the annual operating cost is only about 10% of that of unmanned helicopters, so residents are interested in them.

The KT drone training center plans to support not only theory and pilot training, but also future drone qualification tests and agricultural drone rentals. Through this, it is expected that farmers will also be able to directly help the household economy of residents.

The KT drone training center will provide general drone training for the general public and students as well as agricultural use. In particular, the response to the drone training center at Shinan Imja Nam Elementary School, which was designated as a drone specialized school by the Shinan Office of Education, is explosive to the point that the goal this year is for all students to obtain drone certification.

KT Sustainability Management Team Leader Lee Seon-ju, Executive Director, said, “KT is pleased to be able to transfer essential IT technology to Imjado residents. We will actively support more people to use drones directly for farming,” and “We will continue to work to ensure that the development of the agricultural drone rental business leads to job creation.”