[Special feature] JP Rakuten Logistics drone delivers luggage to the rooftop of a high-rise condominium --Drone Journal

From December 1st to 16th, 2021, JP Rakuten Logistics announced that it has conducted the first demonstration experiment of on-demand delivery in Japan using drones in urban high-rise condominiums in Chiba prefecture.

Rakuten provided a drone logistics service for general users in 2016. Founded with e-commerce as its main business, the company has been pursuing services to deliver new technologies to users in a highly convenient manner. Nowadays, as companies focus on drone logistics toward the lifting of the ban on level 4 out-of-sight flights, the company needs a system for how users use drones for shopping and logistics. It is said that it is working on the realization of drone logistics with an emphasis on whether it is said to be.

As a result of prioritizing the usability of users and operators, the company has adopted drones that enable fully automatic flight from the beginning of the business. Although it is necessary to manually load the luggage on the drone, it is possible to automatically return from takeoff to landing and even to separate the luggage. In addition to this, Rakuten Drone's shopping site contributes to the improvement of convenience. It can be used with the smartphone app, and drone delivery orders can be completed through the smartphone. In addition, Mr. Mukai, General Manager of JP Rakuten Logistics Drone / UGV Division, said, "This time we adopted a mechanism that allows you to order with a smartphone, but some users are not accustomed to using smartphones. Instead of using smartphones, we also take orders by phone or paper according to regional characteristics and environment. "

Chiba City has set up a drone delivery concept and aims to deliver goods from the warehouse in the Tokyo Bay coastal area to each condominium in Makuhari New City. This demonstration experiment is based on this concept, and it automatically flies over the sea with a straight line distance of about 12 km and carries luggage from the warehouse to the roof of a high-rise condominium. In addition, we conducted a questionnaire to the residents of the condominium, "What is useful if delivered by drone?" As a result, the demonstration experiment was decided to deliver medicines and daily necessities in the event of a disaster.

The demonstration experiment proceeded according to the following procedure, and succeeded in delivering emergency supplies from a warehouse in the Tokyo Bay coastal area to a high-rise condominium.

The user places an order from the shopping site. In the app, a weight indicator is displayed, and when you select a product, the weight is added, and you can not order unless the weight of the luggage is within the maximum load capacity of the drone. In addition to this, the GPS installed in the drone displays the location information of the drone in the app, and visually displays the flight location and arrival time.

The information ordered by the user on the smartphone is sent to the tablet terminal of the warehouse staff. The staff who received this prepares the product.

The Rakuten staff who received the packed product loads the luggage on the drone. The logistics drone used this time was jointly developed by Rakuten and CIRC. It is a large aircraft with a length of 175 cm and a height of 90 cm, and the maximum load capacity is 7 kg. Regarding the selection of the aircraft, Mr. Mukai said, "As the level 4 flight progresses, the operation of the drone is basically remote monitoring. It is necessary to check the drone's aircraft information and camera images during flight in real time to ensure safety. For this reason, the reliability of the aircraft will become even more important. Therefore, in order to make a proper selection, it is important for the manufacturer to make a thorough test flight after development and to adopt appropriate test equipment and methods. It is required. "

Rakuten staff confirms safety and then presses the takeoff button. Then, the drone will automatically start flying and move toward the high-rise condominium at the destination. During the flight, remote monitoring was performed, and the values ​​of various sensors and the surrounding conditions were confirmed by the on-board camera.

From takeoff, it flew over the sea at a speed of about 50 km / h and delivered the package in about 20 minutes. The condominium that is the delivery destination this time is classified as a high-rise condominium (*) with a height of 100 m or more. Mr. Mukai said, "The landing point was on the rooftop, and various ingenuity was required to take off at a location 100 m or more from the ground."

* Buildings with a height of 60 m or more according to the Building Standards Law.

The condominium resident who received the luggage in the demonstration experiment said, "I was very surprised that the drone actually brought the luggage because I could order it with one smartphone. Urgent supplies and medical care from the sky that had not been used until now. Delivering goods felt a new possibility. "

Finally, Mr. Mukai said, "I think we were able to build a means to avoid traffic congestion and clean logistics in this demonstration experiment. Also, being able to deliver packages in 17 minutes can be said to be extremely close to on-demand delivery. Based on the know-how gained from the demonstration experiment, I would like to work on social implementation together with Level 4 flight. "