Wingbits & Korean Air Partner on DePIN Flight Tracking
Korean Air Taps Wingbits for Flight Tracking Data
Korean Air has signed a research agreement with Wingbits, a Stockholm-based DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) startup, to provide real-time ADS-B data for the airline’s ACROSS air traffic coordination system. This marks Wingbits' first major airline partnership.
The agreement grants Korean Air's R&D division access to flight data across Korea’s Incheon FIR, North America, and Europe. They will be testing the integration of drones, cargo aircraft, and eVTOL taxis within existing air traffic systems.
Wingbits' DePIN Approach
Wingbits operates a decentralized network of cryptographically secured ADS-B receivers. Contributors are rewarded with tokens for strategically placing hardware to optimize data collection.
In January, Wingbits closed a $5.6 million funding round led by Bullish Capital.
Robin Wingårdh, co-founder of Wingbits, emphasized the importance of incentives in data collection: "If you properly incentivize, you actually get people to put receivers where they matter... And on average, we see more than twice the coverage per antenna versus the competition, simply because the incentive is there.”
Future of Air Mobility
Korean Air's interest reflects the growing need for advanced air mobility solutions. Wingårdh stated, "Our view on the advanced air mobility segment is really it’s coming... We don’t believe that there’s currently any infrastructure that can actually function as proper tracking infrastructure for that combination of aviation, advanced mobility, and drones."
This partnership could be a crucial step for Wingbits, showcasing the value of decentralized infrastructure to the broader aviation industry and demonstrating that blockchain-backed data networks can support the future of urban air mobility.
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