Japan's first successful drone flight using swarm control within airport grounds

Group control flight experiment (leader drone in the center, follower drones on the left and right)

Prodrone Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, President and CEO: Shunsuke Totani, hereinafter referred to as PRODRONE) is a joint venture between Nakanihon Airways Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, President and CEO: Shunsuke Toya, hereafter referred to as "Nakanihon Airlines") and Kohata Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Asahikawa City, Hokkaido, President and Director: Mitsunori Kobata, hereinafter referred to as Nakanippon Airlines). Kohata), we conducted a ``demonstration experiment (hereinafter referred to as this demonstration)'' on building a system for quickly inspecting airports, which are disaster prevention bases, using group-controlled drones at Nagoya Prefectural Airport on January 24th. This demonstration project was selected for the 2022 New Aichi Creative Research and Development Grant (*). This demonstration aimed to create a system to quickly inspect the vast grounds of Nagoya Airport, Aichi Prefecture's disaster prevention base, using group-controlled drones. If the system demonstrated this time works, runways, etc. can be inspected in a short period of time in the event of a disaster, contributing to minimizing economic losses due to a decline in airport functionality.1. OverviewWe have developed a control system that allows multiple drones to fly at a fixed interval while communicating with each other, and in a demonstration experiment we performed group control flight in which two other drones automatically fly following the movements of one leader aircraft. The drone's position is obtained by correcting the positioning using RTK, and the drone flies along a preset route. Additionally, by using multiple Wi-Fi routers for data communication with the aircraft, we created a more stable flight environment and prevented radio wave problems. In the future, by increasing the number of aircraft and changing the flight altitude, it will be possible to inspect and photograph a wide range of areas. Since the airport is busy with many aircraft flying during the day, the demonstration experiment (night flight) was conducted outside of operational hours, and the flight was short due to safety considerations, but this is Japan's first attempt at group control within an airport. In the future, we will work together with Nakanippon Airlines and other related parties toward actual operation.2. Implementation structureImplementing company: Nakanihon Air Service Contractor: Kohata (laser-equipped drone operation) Prodrone (group control system development and operational support) Daido University (advice on group control system development) Implementation cooperation: Aichi Prefecture

3. Aircraft overview

[Basic specifications] Size: 1,196 x 1,196 x 596 mm Weight: 5.4 kg (excluding battery) Flight time: 45 minutes (without payload) Battery: 16,000 mAh x 2 The aircraft used in the demonstration (PD4B-M prototype) is lightweight but has a payload of 10 kg and can fly for a long time. It has multiple sensors including a laser altimeter, acceleration sensor, and gyro sensor. It is also equipped with LED lighting, making it possible to fly at night. * “2022 New Aichi Creative Research and Development Subsidy (Research and Development (General Type) / Demonstration Experiment) List of Selected Projects” ■About Prodrone Co., Ltd. With the vision of "becoming the most trusted drone company in the region," we aim to build a drone ecosystem in the Chubu region. We carry out one-stop in-house development and production of industrial drones, including the PD6B-Type3 multicopter, which has a maximum payload of 30kg and has begun mass production, and the PDH-GS120 helicopter, which can fly for two hours and has excellent weather resistance. ■Company profile of PRODRONE Co., Ltd. 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 Prefecture 468-0014 Website: https://www.prodrone.com/jp