Winner of 2 categories at “Best of Japan Drone Award 2021”!

From left in the photo: Judges Mr. Sunohara, Mr. Saito from KDDI, and Mr. Sugaki from PRODRONE.

PRODRONE Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, President and CEO: Shunsuke Toya, hereinafter referred to as PRODRONE) received two top awards in the "Hardware Category" and "Software Application Category" at the "Best of Japan Drone Award 2021" hosted by JAPAN DRONE 2021 held in June 2021. Both categories were awarded jointly by KDDI Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Makoto Takahashi, hereafter KDDI) and PRODRONE. The PDH-GS120, which won the Grand Prize in the "Hardware Category", is a single-rotor aircraft that uses a newly developed 120cc engine and a helicopter-specific flight controller. It has high flight performance and wind resistance, and can fly automatically for 2 hours with a payload of 10 kg. This aircraft can be used for a wide range of purposes, from transporting goods to wide area surveillance.

From left in the photo: Judges Mr. Inokawa, Mr. Tateiwa from KDDI, and Mr. Sugaki from PRODRONE.

The drone logistics service that won the Grand Prize in the ``Software Application Category'' is Japan's first commercial drone delivery service. This service was launched in August 2020 in Ina City, Nagano Prefecture, using KDDI's smart drone platform and ProDrone's PD6B-Type 3, which is capable of autonomous flight beyond visual line of sight and remote monitoring and control. It can carry up to 5 kg of daily necessities, etc., and can deliver to locations approximately 7 km away. This is Japan's first local government-operated drone delivery service, which has become an important means of living for elderly people who don't own cars. Mr. Suga, PRODRONE's Executive Vice President/Technical Supervisor, who attended the award ceremony, said the following.

"We have been developing a wide range of drones together with KDDI. We would like to express our gratitude to everyone, and with this award as encouragement, we will continue to work with KDDI to develop drones that will be even more useful to people. Thank you everyone."

■What is the Best of Japan Drone Award 2021? The "Best of Japan Drone Award" is held in each category with the aim of encouraging the development of the drone industry, promoting the development of exhibitors' products, technologies, and services, and developing sales channels, and disseminating their excellent products and services domestically and internationally. This award will be held at Japan Drone, an event aimed at the drone market. ■About Prodrone Co., Ltd. Prodrone Co., Ltd. is a B2B company whose mission is to become the world's number one industrial drone system manufacturer and change the world. We provide a one-stop service for many companies entering the industrial drone market, from research consulting, aircraft development, control software development, service application development, and mass production. ■Prodrone Co., Ltd. Company Profile ・Company name: PRODRONE Co., Ltd. ・Representative: Shunsuke Toya, President and CEO ・Capital: 100 million yen ・Head office location: 1-115 Nakahira, Tenpaku-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 468-0014 ・Website: https://www.prodrone.com/jp ■For inquiries regarding this matter, please contact Prodrone Co., Ltd. E-mail: info-jp@prodrone.com Person in charge: Kawakami TEL: 052-890-8803