Pablo Picasso goes high with Pablo Air

Ashraf Aboul-Yazid with Seunghan Lim

By Ashraf Aboul-Yazid
President, Asia Journalists Assoication

SEOUL: We were heading to Inchon Airport area, but our flight was not an ordinary one! We took an innovative flight instead; a flight into the future of drone industry.

Arranged by founder of Asia Journalist Association and former president of JAK, Mr. Lee Sang-ki, I was invited to the presentation of a new technology that is currently hot both in life and news. But instead of arriving on time, we were behind, due to the busy traffic. But the PABLO AIR team helped us to cross the first moment with wide smiles and open mind.

The afternoon session of Friday June 2, 2023, started with a full multiple media presentation by Daniel Kim, projecting PABLO AIR plans, activities, ambitions and techniques as well.

Let us start with their line, “Innovation Is In Us”, as it’s the phrase that best describes PABLO AIR, and it’s their pride:

“As if drawing on a white canvas, our company was named after Pablo Picasso with a vision of leading the global drone industry as we draw it. PABLO AIR is a domestic drone company established in 2018 to expand drone service’s range through swarm flight technology. With the advancement of Ground Control System (GCS), communication multiplexing, and Flight Control System technology, PABLO AIR successfully operated the national first longest maritime flight in 2019 (57km) and 2020 (80 kms).”

Daniel Kim, projecting PABLO AIR plans in the next decade

Daniel Kim, C.T.O, PABLO AIR, explained: “We proved the system’s stability and accelerated the realization of drone delivery through national R&D tasks and demonstration projects. We aim to innovate unmanned delivery and logistics systems with our self-platform, PAMNet, which integrates unmanned mobility beyond drones, providing unmanned land, sea and, air delivery/logistics services in various operating environments, including smart cities.”

PABLO AIR History

If we cross the last five years fast, 2018 marks the start of PABLO AIR Corporate and R&D Center foundation. In 2019, the first maritime drone delivery flight in nation and the longest distance thereof (57.5km) – Minister of SMEs and Startups Incheon commendation, ISO 9001 certification and renewal of self-record of the longest maritime logistics delivery distance (80.6km), KIA Motors ‘Logo Unveiling Event’ with 303 Pyro Drone Show listed in the Guinness Book of Records and 2020 National Sympathy Management Awards (Innovative Enterprise Division)

In 2021, PABLO AIR had World’s First ATM and UTM integration with PAMNet and long-distance maritime flight. They had New York State drone delivery demonstration project with NUAIR. PABLO AIR had partnership with National Technology and Innovation Sandbox (NTIS) in Malaysia.

PABLO AIR history in photos

PABLO AIR got best in 2021 Technology Evaluation Certification T-3 and AUVSI XCELLENCE AWARD 2021 second place in Operations category with PAMNet. The year also witnessed the establishment of PABLO AIR International, Inc. U.S. branch (Phoenix, AZ).

In 2022, PABLO AIR joined NUAIR Alliance (Syracuse, NY) and became 2022 DRONE SHOW KOREA Official Sponsor.  PABLO AIR was selected for 2022 Drone Regulatory Sandbox Business (Delivery Category) by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation.

K-Drone system selection – AUVSI XCELLENCE AWARD 2022 2nd place and K-UAM Grand Challenge Consoritum Launch. The last year also witnessed the First Convenience Store Drone Delivery Station Open / Drone Delivery Service Launch. PABLO AIR got Minister of Public Administration and Security Award in 2022 National people of Empathy Campaign.

Observing PABLO AIR teams, we begin with Team PICASSO of R&D Center. The choice of naming this team will definitely bring the of Seunghan Lim, Ph.D in Aerospace Engineering, and PABLO AIR C.T. O  who has been inspired by the great artist. Innovative mobility technology for the innovative world. In the center, R&D department TEAM PICASSO stands. The smart mobility integrated control system (PABLO AIR Mobility Network, PAMNet) is newly developing into a platform for controlling all the future mobilities from drones to UAM.

The second team is Team ALLIVERY for Logistics, setting the vision of All People, All Places, All Deliveries, PABLO AIR promotes the optimal eco-friendly delivery solution through the sky path. For the first time in Korea, the company is launching a drone center, forwarding towards commercialization of drone delivery.

The third is Team AERO of Aviation. TEAM AERO provides a total aircraft management solution leading the UAM(Urban Air Mobility) era. With our partners, LG U+, GS E&C, Kakao Mobility, Vertical Aerospace (UK) we implement the K-UAM GC demonstration business managed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT).

Based on swarm technology, PABLO AIR is creating convergence contents that combine technology and art in the fields of drone art shows, education, and sales. It is called Team D-MIX , and deals with art show as a real touch of Pablo Picasso. In 2022, PABLO AIR renewed its own Guinness World Records with 511 pyro drones.

In our talk, I started by thanking PABLO AIR for giving a positive good image of drone industry. In the recent years, drone technology and industry have been continuously connected with wars and destruction. Thanks to PABLO AIR to have new useful usages of their drones, as follows:

Medical delivery and Fresh food

Drone delivery and drone station

It promotes the fundamental rights of local residents by simultaneously delivering drugs and relief supplies to many islands and remote mountain villages. Long-distance maritime flights can be realized by securing the stability of maritime flights through communication multiplexing.

PABLO AIR dreams of a healthy society that everyone can enjoy beyond the limitations of distance and region. I knew that the project was extended to Africa, with blood delivered in South Africa, Rwanda and Nigeria.

Ashraf Aboul-Yazid, guest of honour, PABLO AIR

In the presentation, in a difficult geographical region, I saw a video to deliver food in 15 minutes. Last mile drone delivery is a solution for connecting producers and consumers directly. PABLO AIR wants to deliver the hearts of producers who think of nature to consumers through eco-friendly drone delivery. Benefitting both producers and consumers, that’s what PABLO AIR wants to achieve.

Final plan is concerning with E-commerce. PABLO AIR delivers precious items and the heart contained in them by drone. It wants to deliver the safest and fastest so that it can deliver the value of our hearts together. The goal is to quickly reach customers without being restricted by the flight environment by utilizing flight control technology and communication multiplexing.

Final discussion has been raised with laws to allow and control the new technology, to achieve zero mistakes and keep the privacy of citizens. While we started with the imagination of science, we concluded with the imagination of poet, as I took the chance to present my latest book of poetry (A Street in Cairo) to the scientists. The book is published by Alia Mundi, Belgrade, in Arabic, English and Serbian (translated by Dr. Ana Stjelja, the well known Serbian poet and publisher.