Groundbreaking BVLOS Testing Showcases Autonomous Drone Supply in Crowded City Airspace
by DRONELIFE Employees Author Ian J. McNabb
This text revealed in collaboration with JUIDA, the Japan UAS Industrial Growth Affiliation.
The Tokyo Metropolitan authorities lately introduced a brand new initiative to start drone deliveries for essential medical provides inside metropolis limits, together with flight checks, which concluded early final month. This was the primary time that one-to-two BVLOS (past visible line of sight) medical supply testing (that means that a single pilot managed two drones without delay) has been performed inside Tokyo’s crowded airspace.
The challenge is being performed with the purpose to doubtlessly relieve supply issues brought on by power site visitors congestion in one of many world’s largest metropolises, the place large site visitors jams could make crossing even comparatively brief distances troublesome by highway.
Using Japanese firm ACSL’s Airtruck and PF2-CAT3 logistics UAVs, the testing occurred between late October and early November and featured each Stage 3.5 (principally autonomous BVLOS flight, with a pilot there to keep away from potential pitfalls) and Stage 4 (totally autonomous, with no supervisory pilot) flight testing in Tokyo metropolis limits.
The preliminary route concerned a supply to Hinode Village, a small suburb nestled within the foothills of the Okutama Mountains, representing the sort of rural space which may profit from expanded drone supply from extra fully-featured medical services and pharmacies elsewhere inside metropolis limits, however in future, the Tokyo authorities hopes to develop drone supply providers throughout the complete prefecture.
The AirTruck logistics drone, collectively developed by Aeronext and ACSL, incorporates a 5kg payload and a most vary of 20km. It has beforehand been deployed in medical supply in Ulaanbataar, Mongolia, the place it was utilized in the same check of autonomous flight over densely populated areas in a metropolis the place the roads are sometimes crammed with automobiles. The PF2-CAT3 is Japan’s first domestically produced drone to obtain Class 1 certification and had performed over 11 profitable Stage 4 autonomous supply flights in 2023.
The testing was performed by KDDI Company, KDDI Sensible Drone Company, Japan Airways Co., Ltd., East Japan Railway Firm, Weathernews Inc., and Mediceo Inc.
Extra data on the challenge could be discovered right here (in Japanese).
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Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, an expert drone providers market, and a fascinated observer of the rising drone trade and the regulatory surroundings for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles targeted on the business drone house and is a world speaker and acknowledged determine within the trade. Miriam has a level from the College of Chicago and over 20 years of expertise in excessive tech gross sales and advertising and marketing for brand new applied sciences.
For drone trade consulting or writing, E-mail Miriam.
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