Demonstration experiment in half a year! Children Experiencing Unmanned Ships -Special Class for "MEGURI 2040 Project" Aiming at Commercialization of Unmanned Ships-

The Nippon Foundation "Sea and Japan Project"

A special class to think about the future earth and the sea through unmanned ships was held for the 5th graders of Kaihin Utase Elementary School in Chiba City. This class was held as part of the "MEGURI2040 Project," which is supported by the Nippon Foundation and aims to commercialize unmanned ships. An unmanned ship is a ship that operates unmanned, with AI taking charge of almost all work on board. If realized, it will be a solution to problems such as labor shortages, and it is said that an annual economic effect of about 1 trillion yen can be expected in Japan. Currently, we are promoting development and initiatives with the aim of commercialization by 2025 and half of the ships operating in Japan to be unmanned ships by 2040. One of these initiatives is special classes. Tetsuya Kikyo, Team Leader of the Marine Business Department of the Nippon Foundation, said about the purpose of the special class: I think there are concerns about things like that, so I want elementary school students to know about it and have a sense of familiarity with it." In the class, we observed a system that actually controls unmanned flight at the DFFAS team's onshore support center, one of the consortiums (multiple private business entities) supported by the MEGURI2040 project. Participating children experienced piloting a simulator under development and observed the equipment used for unmanned flight. We also conducted a company tour of "Weathernews," which is a member of the DFFAS team. Weathernews is a weather information company that provides not only general weather forecasts, but also a wide range of information, including weather related to sports, nautical weather related to ships, and operational performance data. During the company tour, we gave lectures in the form of quizzes on "transportation around the world" and "relationship between daily life and weather information" while touring offices. After finishing the special class, the children said, "I was surprised to see more machines and computers than I expected," and "If unmanned ships were put into practical use, I'd be a little scared, but I'd like to try them out." I think I learned. Regarding the future of unmanned ships, Mr. Kikyo said, "The demonstration experiment will start in about half a year, but I would like to do something that will make children find the MEGURI 2040 project and unmanned ships interesting and amazing."

Social Innovation News Management Office