Japan Technology Leaders Tender

Several leading Japanese technology firms including BIRD INITIATIVE Inc. hereinafter BIRD INITIATIVE1 ANA HOLDINGS INC. hereinafter ANAHD2 AIN HOLDINGS INC. hereinafter AIN HD3 and NEC Corporation hereinafter NEC4 have partnered with the Hokkaido Bureau of Economy Trade and Industry hereinafter METI5 to conduct a drone operations pilot project in Wakkanai City Hokkaido prefecture. Tests conducted examined the ability of drones to deliver pharmaceutical supplies to remote areas in accordance with the Guidelines for Pharmaceutical Supply Delivery using Drones6 and to operate at passenger airports using the decentralized UAS Traffic Management hereinafter UTM7. UTM enables multiple drone operators to operate drones safely and efficiently within the same airspace. All of the tests were held in accordance with existing Japanese regulations and guidelines for drone use.These successful pilots were conducted as part of the Drones and Robots for Ecologically Sustainable Societies project hereinafter referred to as the DRESS Project8 a project entrusted to Persol Process Technology Co. Ltd. by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization hereinafter NEDO. With BIRD INITIATIVE acting as the representative Digital Hokkaido Research Association hereinafter Hokkaido Drone Association FRS Corporation hereinafter FRS HELICAM Corporation hereinafter Helicam the National Institute of Informatics of the Research Organization of Information and Systems hereinafter NII and Tokio Marine Nichido Fire Insurance Co. together conducted the experiment from September 7 to October 30 2021.Utilizing Drones to Address Unique Regional IssuesDrones offer exciting new possibilities but their full potential is limited by restrictions on their ability to fly beyond the visual line of sight BVLOS of their operators. BVLOS operations are currently limited to remote islands mountainous areas and sparsely populated areas. The DRESS project was launched in 2017 in an effort to gain approval for BVLOS flights in populated areas also known as Level 4 flights by FY2022. The results from the Wakkanai tests could help achieve this goal. The tests in Wakkanai each held different purposes aimed to resolve challenges that still affect drone operation implementing new ideas to solve regional issues seal monitoring establishing guidelines combatting fisheries poaching addressing practical issues for already legalized operations takeoff and landing at passenger airports and improving guidelines delivery of pharmaceutical supplies.Drone Delivery of Pharmaceutical Goods in Accordance with the GuidelineIn June 2021 the Cabinet Secretariat the Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare and the Ministry of Land Infrastructure Transport and Tourism formulated the Guidelines for Pharmaceutical Delivery Using Drones. The use of drones to deliver pharmaceutical supplies could help provide critical medical care in remote areas. While patients can currently receive pharmaceutical supplies through traditional parcel services after receiving online medical treatment and online medication guidance deliveries can often take several days in remote areas. AIN HD ANAHD and the Hokkaido Bureau of Economy Trade and Industry partnered to conduct a pilot program that tested the effectiveness of pharmaceutical delivery via drone platforms the first in Japan based on the Guidelines. AIN HD provided the prescribed medicines as well as online medication guidance to participating patients after the patients received online medical treatment from the Wakkanai City Hospital while ANAHD delivered the selected pharmaceuticals by drone.The trials resulted in the codification of new guidelines that require key measures such as attaching locks to containers to ensure they are only opened by the intended recipient and Toppan Forms Co. Ltd. provided lightweight and lockable containers.Drone Deliveries at an Airport with Scheduled Airline FlightsANAHD collaborated with the Hokkaido Airports Corporation HAP to conduct Japans first trial program to fly delivery drones to and from airports with regularly scheduled flights. The experiment explored the connection between drone logistics and airborne logistics by flying a delivery drone to and from Wakkanai Airport as well as within and outside of the immediate airport area. As both of these formats are increasingly leveraged to provide increased logistical efficiency drones and traditional air travel will enable rapid and consistent cargo transport from rural areas to urban areas. The trial program also highlighted the potential of new logistics networks using airports as the basis for a hub-and-spoke model.BVLOS Operation for Anti-Poaching MonitoringPoaching in Hokkaido and many other parts of Japan creates a range of negative consequences including economic damage to the fishing industry. To address this Helicam worked with the Wakkanai Police Station and the Hokkaido Drone Association to detect deter and prosecute poaching using a drone with a thermal infrared camera a spotlight and a loudspeaker. The successful tests yielded valuable information that will help the local fishing cooperatives collaborate with the police and the city government to protect their livelihood.Drone for Seal MonitoringIn Wakkanai the fishers rely on nets to capture fish but local seals pose a serious problem as they often chew through the nets to eat the catch for themselves. For this reason it is critical to local industry to monitor seal movements. Researchers are typically able to only observe seals when they are on land. However in a recently-completed pilot program FRS operated drones were used to monitor seals both in land-based colonies and as they swam in proximity to fishing nets with the cooperation of the Hokkaido Drone Association.