On November 4th, Aeronext and NEXT DELIVERY conducted a demonstration experiment of drone level 3.5 flight in Wakayama City, Japan's first such experiment involving a route that included a DID (Densely Inhabited District).
<A dedicated logistics drone that flies over DID (Densely Inhabited Districts) and delivers medicinal food bento boxes prepared at hospitals.>
In the demonstration experiment, a medicinal bento box prepared at Utsunomiya Hospital in Wakayama City, located within the DID (Densely Inhabited District), was delivered to "Michi-no-Eki Shiki-no-Sato Park FOOD HUNTER PARK" in approximately 10 minutes. The flight distance was approximately 4.3 km one way, and the distance to the DID along the route was 250 m.
The aircraft was AirTruck, a logistics drone developed by Aeronext. It was remotely operated by a remote pilot from inside the Utsunomiya Hospital's cooking facility. After dropping off packages in the parking lot of "Michi-no-Eki Shiki-no-Sato Park FOOD HUNTER PARK," it returned to Utsunomiya Hospital.
Currently, in the suburbs of Wakayama City, the number of people, especially the elderly, who have difficulty shopping is increasing due to the closure of supermarkets. At the roadside station "Shiki no Sato Park FOOD HUNTER PARK" located in a mountainous area, bento boxes made with local ingredients prepared at the cooking facilities of Utsunomiya Hospital in the city are sold and are popular with the elderly. However, a shortage of staff is causing delays in deliveries to the roadside station, resulting in lost sales opportunities and stagnation of the local economy.
By establishing drone flight routes connecting DID (Densely Inhabited District) areas and mountainous regions, the project aims to reduce manpower and improve delivery efficiency. By delivering bento boxes prepared at Utsunomiya Hospital's kitchen facilities, it seeks to simultaneously support those with limited access to shopping and revitalize the local economy. Furthermore, it envisions applying the established food delivery model to the medical field in the future.
