Producer Soo-man Lee visited the production facility at the invitation of Joby Aviation, the world's best urban air traffic (UAM) airframe manufacturing company.
Producer Sooman Lee visited the Joby Aviation production facility in Marina, California, USA on the afternoon of January 9 (local time), toured the inside of the factory and experienced the UAM aircraft. He also had a Q&A session with Joby Aviation and discussed the future UAM industry. We had an in-depth discussion about.
This visit was concluded at the suggestion of Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong, and about 10 key officials from each company attended the site, including Producer Lee Soo-man, Minister Won Hee-ryong, JoeBen Bevirt, CEO of Joby Aviation, and Yoo Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom.
In particular, Producer Lee Soo-man, who was introduced as the 'K-pop Godfather' and attracted attention on the day, carefully examined Joby Aviation's corporate presentation and explained that transportation time and carbon consumption can be dramatically reduced by using Joby Aviation's UAM. After hearing this, he also admired, “It is also related to the sustainability movement that SM and I pursue.”
In addition, Producer Lee Soo-man showed great interest in the low noise of Joby Aviation's aircraft, saying, “Not only is it important to reduce aircraft noise, but also how to reduce noise at the port when the aircraft lands in the city. SM and SK Telecom introduced artificial intelligence-based sound source separation technology at the joint exhibition hall of 'CES 2019'. “Currently, sound source separation technology is being developed into noise-canceling technology, etc., so if necessary, it would be good to apply it as a method to reduce noise during port takeoff and landing (in cooperation with SK Telecom),” he suggested.
Also, when asked sharply why they do not conduct test flights abroad, unlike their competitors, Joby Aviation responded, “We are preparing to conduct test flights abroad after receiving approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “Currently, in Korea, we are participating in the ‘Grand Challenge’, a Korean-style urban air traffic (K-UAM) demonstration project,” to which producer Soo-Man Lee responded, “Korea has content called the Korean Wave and has world-famous K-pop artists. He also presented ideas for content, saying, “The fastest way to promote Joby Aviation to the world is to show the public how they experience the aircraft.”
At the end of the Q&A, Joby Aviation said, “We greatly sympathized with producer Lee Soo-man’s idea. I would like to cooperate with producer Lee Soo-man and SM through future discussions. I am glad that they first proposed a plan to reduce port noise using sound source separation technology. “We already have technology to reduce aircraft noise, but we would like to receive help with port noise,” he said, drawing attention.
Producer Lee Soo-man has previously been interested in new technologies beyond culture. He has expressed interest in future mobility, including UAM, on several occasions, and has developed technologies and construction projects such as a theater inside a manned drone capable of autonomous driving and a vertiport where drones take off and land in cultural centers. , has presented a vision for a future entertainment world that will be realized through the convergence of transportation and culture.
Reporter Junho Yoon, Ten Asia delo410@tenasia.co.kr