On November 4th, NEXT DELIVERY will conduct a drone delivery demonstration experiment in Wakayama City, using a flight route that includes densely populated areas—a first in Japan—in addition to the previously limited flight routes for drones operating at "Level 3.5 flight" in sparsely populated areas.
The demonstration experiment will use Utsunomiya Hospital (505-4 Narugami, Wakayama City) as the takeoff and landing point, fly to "Michi-no-Eki Shiki-no-Sato Park" (85 Myooji, Wakayama City), 4 kilometers away, deliver the goods, and then take off again to return to the starting point.
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Level 3.5 flight is a type of flight that does not require access control measures, etc., and can be implemented when flying a drone beyond visual line of sight, provided certain conditions are met. Through experiments, we will verify the potential of using drones in residential areas through Level 3.5 flight, which can be implemented at a lower cost compared to Level 4 flight.
Depending on the verification results, it is expected that the scope of drone delivery will expand from sparsely populated areas to a wide range of areas including suburbs of cities, significantly contributing to the improvement of the business viability of drones.
The demonstration experiment will utilize "Air Truck," a drone specifically designed for logistics.
