In the future, there may not be urban traffic congestion because of the UAM service. UAM is the acronym for Urban Air Mobility. It is the future traffic system using air as a traffic route. Since it has better points than the traffic system now, it is being developed by many companies.

As UAM service is the traffic system using sky, it has many merits. It is quiet, cost-effective, fast, and eco-friendly. If we use the UAM service to go to Seoul from Busan, it will only take 20 minutes. Also, since it is 100 percent electrical drive, it does not harm the environment. The biggest advantage is that it releases a decline of movement efficiency and cost of distribution transportation caused by urban traffic congestion. For UAM service to be realized, there should be take-off and landing facilities, fuselage, navigating service, connection platform, and many more.

▲ Take-off and landing facilities: vertiport

There are some cases that companies plan to develop UAM services. SK Telecom, a Korean mobile communication service company, said that it will speed up to develop UAM service. It will develop a platform that offers a reservation system and connects UAM service with other types of transportation. It is expected that the UAM-related market will be worth 131 trillion won by 2040. Also, South Korea has a plan to commercialize UAM services by 2025 to overcome urban traffic congestion by using unmanned drone taxis. In addition, Shin Jae-Won, CEO of Hyundai Motor Group, said that if UAM service is commercialized, people can use the service freely in accordance with individuals' needs.

▲ An air taxi

UAM service is the future traffic system using air as a traffic route that can solve traffic problems now. Because of the many merits of UAM service, many companies are developing technologies of it. Therefore, we can expect a better traffic environment with air mobility in the future.

By Oh Kyoung-Taek