KDDI and Japan Airlines Successfully Test Multi-Drone System for Disaster Relief

Demonstration Marks Key Milestone in Japan’s ReAMo Project, Paving the Way for Safe and Efficient One-to-Many Drone Operations

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian J. McNabb

This article published in collaboration with JUIDA, the Japan UAS Industrial Development Association.

Recently, Tokyo-based telecommunications operator KDDI Corporation and Japan Airlines recently announced that their system designed to allow a single operator to fly multiple drones at once had undergone a successful test and demonstration in the Yoshida area of Chichibu City, Saitama Prefecture. In this demonstration, a single operator delivered disaster relief supplies and food using three separate UAVs via remote control, all the way from Tokyo, almost 60 miles (roughly 95 km) away. 

Part of the “Realization Project for the Social Implementation of Next-Generation Air Mobility (ReAMo Project),” promoted by NEDO (the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization), the demonstration was conducted under level 3.5 flight conditions, defined as operation without ground-based assistants or entry management procedures provided that certain safety-related conditions (such as pedestrian visibility from the drone’s onboard camera) are met. 

KDDI and Japan Drones’ Multi-Drone System for Disaster Relief

In this demonstration, KDDI and KDDI Smart Drone Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Masafumi Hirono) combined their jointly-developed flight control system with JAL’s safety know-how and experience in the Japanese aviation industry, facilitating the safe and secure operation of multiple drones. 

The tested drone featured a maximum Flight Speed of 60 km/h and a maximum flight time of approximately 35 minutes, along with up to a 30kg payload. This represents nearly 220 lbs of load-bearing UAV, all controlled by a single operator- a promising sign for future developments. 

The two companies will continue to jointly develop and validate their operational requirements and the operation management system, with the goal being to eventually effectively commercialize and deploy one-to-many operations. They will continue collaboration to establish a future joint business model and promote new regulatory frameworks for one-to-many operations, aiming for safer and more efficient future implementations of drone technology.

NEDO’s “ReAMo Project” aims to facilitate and achieve safe and efficient air mobility through future technology development and research, such as new performance and safety testing evaluation methods for drones and flying cars and integrated air-control systems to allow low-altitude vehicles like UAVs to share airsspace with other crafts.

The original press release, (in Japanese) is available here. 

Read more:

• FAA Progress on BVLOS Rules and Advanced Air Mobility Integration
• Canada Authorizes Drone Swarms Operating Beyond Visual Line of Sight to Fight Wildfires
• Intelligent Drone Swarms Could Mimic Bird Flocks: New Research from University of Houston