Demonstration project of illegal dumping monitoring method using autonomous drones conducted in Mie Prefecture

“PD4B-M” made by PRODRONE

PRODRONE Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, President and CEO: Shunsuke Totani, hereinafter referred to as PRODRONE) participated in the ``Demonstration Experiment of Illegal Dumping Monitoring Law Using Automated Drones'' (hereinafter referred to as the Demonstration) conducted in Iga City, Mie Prefecture on September 29th. In light of the current situation where illegal dumping of industrial waste continues to occur, Mie Prefecture is considering a monitoring method using drones that is expected to be effective in early detection and deterrence of illegal dumping. In response to this, we verified the automatic detection function using a drone (automated operation type drone) with a route set in advance, without the need for an operator, and a surface data processing system. Following instructions from the prefectural office conference room, an autonomous drone took off, and while transmitting data to the prefectural office in real time, surveyed an area of 60 hectares approximately several kilometers away in less than 30 minutes, and detected illegally dumped sites using ProDrone's unique technology. The data processing engine for detection implements a convolution layer using filtering using parameters specific to illegal dumping detection, as well as pooling processing based on natural features, to achieve efficient detection in videos that are difficult to learn. In the future, we aim to reduce false positives and improve detection accuracy by inputting the detection results into general-purpose AI.

Katsuya Ikeda, Assistant Director, Mie Prefecture Waste Monitoring and Guidance Division

Katsuya Ikeda, assistant manager of the Mie Prefecture Waste Monitoring and Guidance Division, who has been conducting this demonstration, has the following comments: "This time, the surveillance area was 60 hectares, an area the size of 13 Tokyo Domes, and we were able to efficiently monitor it using a drone in a 30-minute flight.This is a demonstration experiment to see if drones can be used to monitor illegal dumping, so the purpose was to verify feasibility and implementation issues.Based on the contents of this demonstration, we would like to continue considering the introduction of drones in the future."

Kazuo Ichihara Managing Director, Prodrone Co., Ltd.

Comments from Kazuo Ichihara, Managing Director of Prodrone Co., Ltd., are as follows. ``The PD4B-M used in this demonstration is a simple aircraft that can fly for long periods of time while reflecting existing needs and new seeds. We believe that we can create a product with even higher added value by having sufficient resistance to the wind and rain in the Japanese environment, and by experimenting with new image analysis techniques."

Spots that look like industrial waste are discovered on the monitor and flash red on the monitor.