Korea-based advanced air mobility (AAM) service provider MintAir has partnered with Wemap and the City of Seongnam to demonstrate a 4D AAM map, a core enabling technology for AAM flight route development and operation. Using a commercial drone, the demonstration flight was performed at the Housing Expo (Jutaekjeonsigwan) site in Seongnam on 24 September, 2022.

The 4D AAM map was constructed by voxelising urban buildings and airspace. The map provides a precise flying corridor for UAV and AAM routes, enables emergency route change and prevents collisions with obstacles such as high-rise buildings. Furthermore, the map provides real-time updates of airspace information, critical for the safe operation of remote piloted or autonomous flights.

“Our mission is to develop the safest advanced air mobility service in both urban and regional routes, and the demonstration of the 4D AAM map solution is an important step forward to achieving this mission,” says MintAir CEO and founder Eugene Choi. “We have successfully demonstrated a critical enabling technology for the safe operation of AAM service in urban routes.”

MintAir and Wemap developed and demonstrated this map solution to prepare for the K-UAM Grand Challenge programme organised by the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. In May 2022, MintAir formed a consortium with Lotte Group and its subsidiaries, and submitted a proposal to participate in the K-UAM Grand Challenge programme.

This 4D AAM map will support passenger and cargo transportation via the proposed AAM hub in Seongnam, a satellite city in metropolitan Seoul. This hub will have the ability to provide urban and regional air service directly from a major metropolitan population centre to anywhere in Korea, including even remote destinations such as the Jejudo and Ulleungdo islands.

This demonstration comes on the heels of MintAir's recent signing of a LoI to add Electra.aero's nine passenger eSTOL aircraft to its fleet to provide regional air service in the Korean market. MintAir has also formed strategic partnerships with Jaunt Air Mobility and Skyworks Aeronautics, adding their electric rotorcraft to its eVTOL fleet to provide urban air services in Korea.