Delivery of drone.Seino Holdings challenges the reform of the logistics industry | Article | HIP

The generalization of drone delivery is becoming a reality. As the logistics industry company exploring, it is a major logistics company, Seino Holdings, who focused on depopulated areas and realized social implementation as soon as possible. In January 2021, the company launched a new smart logistics system "SkyHub", in collaboration with Aeronext Co., Ltd., which has excellent element technology related to drones. Since April 2021, a delivery service using drones has been implemented in Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture, which has a population of about 700, and it has been used more than 150 times in five months. In the future, the system will be expanded to a depopulated area of ​​817 in Japan, and it is said that it will be implemented in urban areas. This time, we asked Tokuto Kato, director of the Open Innovation Promotion Office, the leader of this initiative, talked about the current task to the vision. So what are the essential elements in selecting a new business collaboration? Interview / sentence: Noriyuki Enonami Photo: Keita Tamamura

HIP Editorial Department (HIP): Seino Holdings has been promoting the drone delivery business since April 2021.What kind of efforts are you doing?

Tokuto Kato (hereinafter Kato): Currently, we are building and operating a logistics system using drones in Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture, which is currently a depopulated area.As a specific mechanism, when the villagers order living supplies on an EC site, each delivery company carries the product to a warehouse called "drone address" by trucks.

From there, skip the drone and deliver the product to the place of receiving the luggage called "Drone Stand" installed in the village in the village.And it is a flow that the villagers pick up the products placed on the drone stand.We would like to install the mechanism of smart logistics that combines such existing land transportation and drone delivery as the "SKYHUB" concept and install it in society.

HIP: It means that each delivery company carries your luggage to the drone depot, but does it include a logistics company other than Seino?

Kato: Yes.In areas where there are many logistics issues such as Kosuge Village, it is necessary to optimize logistics in an open manner, especially with other companies in the industry, so it is assumed that such a mechanism will be created.

If you can carry the luggage of other companies in the same industry to the drone depot, you want to build a mechanism that we will deliver from there.By doing so, you can enhance not only our company but also the overall logistics, and you should be able to deepen cooperation within the industry.

In fact, we have been doing something like joint delivery depending on the region for a long time, so we believe that cooperation itself can be feasible if we have the same thoughts.Rather than the feeling of competing with "I want to implement drone delivery earlier than any company", I want to link the delivery system of each delivery company and the drone delivery system.

Drone delivery is just one of the means of transportation, so I would like to share wisdom throughout the industry and create a new logistics style.

HIP: How many results have been achieved in Kosuge Village at this time?

Kato: Started in April this year, the number of flights has already exceeded 150 times.Rather than demonstration experiments, it has been operated regularly and has already been used by local people.

HIP: Why did you look at depopulated areas in the first place?

Kato: There are several reasons.First, the revised Aviation Law was enforced in 2022, and you will be able to fly non -visual drones in a manned area.As a result, it is expected that drone logistics in urban areas, albeit with conditions.

However, if you start after waiting for the legislation, social implementation will be delayed.Therefore, we decided to implement it from a depopulated ground that can fly to avoid the manned zone.

Another major reason is to improve logistics in depopulated areas.As with any industry, the number of logistics operators is declining and the number of truck drivers is declining.In that case, naturally, an area that cannot carry things will come out.One of the means to solve them is drone delivery.

HIP: As a starting point, it started implementation in Kosuge Village.

Kato: Yes.In areas with a small amount of goods like Kosuge Village, it is a "delivery limited area" that is not profitable because the loading rate is not high, and it is difficult to carry trucks every day.There is no doubt that the area is heavy for each delivery company.So I thought that it would be helpful for each company to take a joint delivery system not only in Seino but also to carry luggage from all delivery companies at once.

In addition, Kosuge Village is characterized by a large number of population -related households and migrants, even in the delivery limited area, and it may be easier to revitalize the region by drone delivery.

In order to develop drone delivery to depopulated areas around the country, the first introduction area must be a model case for success.From such a viewpoint, we decided to implement it in Kosuge Village, which seems to be effective by drone delivery.

HIP: However, it seems difficult to solve the distribution of depopulated areas at once with a drone alone.Is there any other measure other than the drone delivery?

Kato: As I said at the beginning, drone delivery is one of the means of transportation.Therefore, I think it is worth combining with existing land transportation.The smart supply chain that connects and fuses them is the essence of "Skyhub".

Drones can be delivered in straight short distances and are efficient, but they are easily affected by weather.In such a case, we will consider how to make up for the situation, such as supplementing on land transportation.However, it is ideal to create a mechanism that can be delivered 100 % by drone in any situation.I want to diversify the delivery means by ensuring that drone delivery can be performed so that you can use the drone function.

HIP: What kind of area do you think about Kosuge Village?

Kato: In August 2021, we have started similar initiatives in Kamishihoro -cho, Hokkaido.Kosuge Village, which has a population of about 700, is about 5,000 in Kamishihoro -cho, which is much larger.By the way, about 20 % of 1,741 local governments nationwide are about 5,000.First of all, we would like to succeed in this scale and implement cities with 100,000 to 500,000 people.

HIP: This attempt was a collaborative project with Aeronext, which has many technologies related to drone flights.Why did you decide to partner with the company?

Kato: Strictly speaking, Aeronext is not a so -called "drone maker" but a "Drone Architecture Research Institute".In other words, it is not a drone itself, but a company that studies elemental technology to fly drones stably.

As a characteristic technology, a “penetrating gimbal structure” has been developed to prevent the camera from shaking even if the drone aircraft becomes diagonal during flight.By applying this to drone logistics, you can safely carry it without shaking or tilting your luggage.

For example, eggs, sashimi, and cakes do not collapse.It was exactly stability that we were looking for a dedicated drone for delivery, who first considered safety.And, above all, the world view of smart logistics that I wanted to create was the same, so I decided to partner with Aeronext.

HIP: Did you decide to collaborate with a technical company instead of a drone maker?

Kato: In fact, I was initially looking for a drone manufacturer.From around 2017, there was a concept of drone delivery itself, but at that time I visited a reputable drone manufacturer not only in Japan but also through European countries.But eventually it didn't fit anywhere.

I thought that if I decided on a drone of a company and signed a contract, it would later become a shackle or something that could not be carried out.

Even trucks change the size according to what you carry.Similarly, drones should be different in size and performance required for each thing.In that case, one or two drones may not be able to respond, and things that cannot be carried will come out.At the time of that, the logistics company could not decide immediately.

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