Demonstration implementation of the Cabinet Office ``Autonomous Unmanned Vehicle (AUV) Utilization Demonstration Project'' - Demonstration of remote ship bottom inspection using a water-space combined drone -

Prodrone Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, President and CEO: Shunsuke Totani, hereinafter referred to as “Prodrone”), KDDI Smart Drone Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Masafumi Hirono, hereinafter referred to as “KDDI Smart Drone”), Kunimori Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, President and CEO: Ishihara) The three companies, Toshiki (hereinafter referred to as Kunimori), were selected for the "Autonomous Unmanned Vehicle (AUV) Utilization Demonstration Project" by the Cabinet Office Ocean Policy Promotion Secretariat, and conducted a demonstration experiment of ship bottom inspection in Hyogo Prefecture on November 27, 2024.

The water-air combination drone is the world's first (Note 1) drone that combines an aerial drone and an underwater drone and is capable of flying in the sky and diving into water using remote control using airborne radio waves (4G LTE). The acoustic positioning device allows you to obtain the drone's location information even underwater, where satellite-based positioning systems (GPS) cannot be used.

In this demonstration, the training ship "Kaijin Maru" owned by Kobe University was inspected and images were taken using a water-space combination drone. During the underwater photography, we took pictures of inspection points on the bottom of the ship, confirming that we can efficiently inspect areas such as around the propeller, which are difficult to approach with normal underwater drones.

Through this initiative, we aim to improve the overall efficiency and homogenization of ship bottom inspection work, reduce dangerous work, and create ship bottom inspection rules for commercialization by taking pictures with remote and autonomous drones and analyzing them using AI.

(Note 1) Developed by KDDI Smart Drone Inc., KDDI Research Institute Inc., and Prodrone Inc. for the first time in the world on May 31, 2021, it is a combination of an aerial drone and an underwater drone that can fly in the sky and dive under water using remote control using airborne radio waves (4G LTE).

Kaijinmaru and water-space combination drone

Hydro-air-combined drone conducting inspections

Acquisition of underwater drone position information using acoustic positioning equipment and inspection points in this demonstration

“Inspection area sea chest” and “Inspection area propeller”

Through this initiative, we aim to improve the overall efficiency and homogenization of ship bottom inspection work, reduce dangerous work, and create ship bottom inspection rules for commercialization by taking pictures with remote and autonomous drones and analyzing them using AI.<Attachment>■Video of demonstration experiment Demonstration experiment of “Autonomous Unmanned Vehicle (AUV) Utilization Demonstration Project” ■Role of each company (system)
KDDI Smart Drone: Providing smart drone platform, providing mobile communication, drone traffic management operation
Pro Drone: Aircraft development, drone aircraft operation
Kunimori: Aggregation of ship bottom inspection needs and creation of rules

■About Prodrone
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 provide a one-stop service for everything from development to production of industrial drones, including the PD6B-Type3 multicopter, which has started mass production with a maximum recommended payload of 20kg, and the PDH-GS120 helicopter, which can fly for two hours and has excellent weather resistance.

■About KDDI smart drone
KDDI Smart Drone is building a service that enables safe remote and long-distance flights by controlling drones using 4G LTE in the sky. We are working to realize new businesses using drones and provide flexible services that meet customer needs in various fields such as inspection, logistics, monitoring, agriculture, and surveying. We also operate the KDDI Smart Drone Academy, a drone school that operates unmanned aircraft operator qualification courses that correspond to national drone qualifications, as well as specialist courses specializing in solutions, at more than 10 locations in Japan.
For details KDDI smart drone homepage Please take a look.

■About Kunimori
In addition to selling parts essential to the safe operation of ships and supplying parts to ships traveling around the world, we also provide a wide range of engineering services as a technology trading company.
For details Kunimori homepage Please take a look.

■About the Cabinet Office “Autonomous Unmanned Vehicle (AUV) Utilization Demonstration Project” Home page of the Cabinet Office Ocean Policy Promotion Secretariat Please take a look.


[Past press releases regarding water-space combination drones]
June 28, 2024 News Release KDDI Smart Drone, ProDrone, and Kunimori have been selected for the Cabinet Office's ``Autonomous Unmanned Vehicle (AUV) Utilization Demonstration Project'' - Demonstration begins for practical application of remote ship bottom inspection using water-space combined drones - March 26, 2024 News Release Succeeded in remote underwater inspection of bridge piers using a combined hydro-air drone - Achieving DX of safety management work for aging bridge facilities - October 12, 2022 News Release The world's first water-air hybrid drone, which flies in the sky and dives into water, wins the Robot Award ``Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Award'' December 14, 2021 News Release The world's first water-air drone successfully performs remote underwater photography - Safe and efficient inspection of offshore wind power generation facilities without leaving the ship -