Ulju County in Ulsan announced on the 31st that it is pushing forward with the development of a tower-type drone station capable of automatically replacing drone batteries.

Due to Ulju County’s large jurisdiction of 758 km², it has taken significant time to assess disaster and safety situations. However, with typical drone flight times limited to around 30 minutes, it has been difficult to maintain continuous monitoring on-site.

To address this issue, Ulju County planned an R&D project to develop a “tower-type multi-station with smart battery auto-replacement.” In December last year, the project was submitted to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups under the Purchase-Conditioned New Product Development Program and was selected in January. After company recruitment and evaluation by the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs, a developer was selected this month. Ulju County will co-develop the station with a specialized company and present a standard model for local government drone stations.

The project will develop a station equipped with four drones capable of automatic battery replacement. It will function as an unmanned station, allowing the Ulju County Drone Integrated Control Center to remotely dispatch and control drones via communication protocols.

The station will feature internal and external video transmission, takeoff and landing control based on environmental conditions, internal temperature and humidity monitoring with HVAC systems, and a precision landing guidance system.

The development period is set for two years with a total budget of 750 million KRW. Upon successful completion and evaluation, Ulju County will purchase units equivalent to the originally proposed quantity under the purchase-conditional model.

The lead developer is Vololand Co., Ltd., and Ulju County will be involved from the development phase to ensure the station is tailored to the region’s specific needs.

An official from Ulju County stated,
“When the tower-type drone station capable of autonomous operation is developed, it will allow up to four drones to take off and land simultaneously, laying the foundation for a system that can assess field conditions within five minutes. We expect this unmanned operation system to reduce manpower and budget costs, improve work efficiency, and minimize service downtime through continuous alternating drone flights.”