Japan's "Drone Technology" saves the victims!Closes into mountain rescue experiments performed in Mt. Fuji | Time & Space by KDDI

On October 25, a smart drone demonstration experiment was conducted on Mt. Fuji.The official name of this demonstration experiment is "Mt.

In recent years, distress accidents have increased due to the mountain climbing boom of middle -aged and older people.Along with this, the load on the helicopter to search and rescue the victims is also increasing.July 2010 The crash of disaster prevention helicopters during rescue in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, and the crash of disaster prevention helicopter during training in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture in March 2017 is new to memory.The purpose is to actually verify that smart drones cannot be used for searching and rescue of the victims on the stage on Mt. Fuji.

On the day of the demonstration experiment, the meeting place is the fifth station of Gotemba Exit (about 1,450m above sea level).

Except for two sets of mountain climbing groups at school, it is sparse.Mt. Fuji, off the season, is lonely.It is a cold winter cold when the breath to vomit is cloudy.

Speaking of Mt. Fuji, the image of blue and white.But when I go to the site, it's black.It is appropriate for "desolation".The slope is quite steep, and the legs are filled with large granular sand.10 minutes to Oishi Chaya.

The climb for about 10 minutes was the site of the demonstration experiment.I just climbed for about 20 minutes, but I'm completely battered.The keywords of this demonstration experiment, such as "Middle -aged and old climbing boom" and "frequent distress", were immediately realistic.

The three demonstration experiments were KDDI, Yamap, which provides Japan's largest climbing community site, and Weather News, the world's largest private meteorological information company.

KDDI has developed a mountain rescue -only drone and a drone operation management system, YAMAP has developed a more accurate weather forecast system for flying drones on the mountain.

Here is the story of this experiment.

First, YAMAP is ① and ②, the distress of climbers and the current location.

The mountain climbing map application "YAMAP" gives you information and maps of the mountains you want to climb, and you can read various experiences of those who have experienced mountain climbing on SNS.In addition, the footprints of mountain climbing (not only hiking, walking, trail running, and sightseeing) can be left on the map with GPS.You can leave the current location on the map in real time.

In this experiment, the functions that apply GPS under development are used.If you enter your ID, you can check the current location other than yourself, so families on flat ground can know information such as "the climber has stopped working".

This is the monitor used in this demonstration experiment.The blue arrow is the footprint of the climbers.The twinky yellow lines are on the mountain trail.You can see that the lower left is gradually falling off the route.It is unknown whether he slid or lost his way, but he is no longer on the mountain trail.And he can see on the map that he hasn't moved for a while from the last point.It can be recognized by a third party.

Maybe you were distressed ...

The experiment proceeded under the assumption of ……, from which KDDI and Weather News came in.

The drone is "PD4-AW-AQ" developed by KDDI for mountain rescue.

There were many twists and turns in the development.Developed in a direction to enhance functions, such as installing multiple cameras to respond to various aspects of the rescue of the victims.However, the aircraft increased, and the portability and stable navigation were impaired.In the end, it was completed to the concept of "the most easy to carry and the most stable aircraft in the mountains".

It is a smart drone that controls the LTE, that is, the radio wave of the mobile phone, does not need to be piloted in real time, and flies independently on the previously input course.

Then the drone will fly accordingly.The operation is easy, just click where you want to fly the drone on the screen in order.In the demonstration experiment, the above YAMAP will return to its original position over the point where the climbers are no longer moving.I set the course.

I want to fly a drone right away, but the important thing here is the weather above.The weather in the mountains is more likely to change.That's where Weather News comes in.

Here is the flow of the wind at the experimental site on the day.It is calculated and calculated by simulation.There is a tab that can be pulled down at the bottom right of the screen, and on this screen it is "live commentary" and "altitude 50m".

The wind speed and wind direction can be calculated more finely.The time is every 10 minutes within one hour, and one hour ahead.The altitude is the precision of every 10m.The drone's flight altitude is at a maximum of about 150m, but the wind and wind speed will change in 10m units.Until now, there was no low -altitude weather prediction in the sky, but we developed for drones for this experiment.

This weather forecast system is 250m mesh (= 250m square).You may not be used to the word mesh, but the most common weather forecasts of the Japan Meteorological Agency are 20 km mesh, the forecasts issued by private meteorological companies are 5 km mesh, and the conventional forecast of Weather News is 1km mesh.You can see how detail it is.

What we were surprised was not only to collect data with these simulation, but also to observe on -site at the same time.

7.A white object on the top and bottom sand on the 5m stand.This is also a small observation sensor, a new weapon of Weather News.Although it is about the size of a hamburger, you can observe temperature, humidity, wind speed, and pressure with this one.And work with a personal computer using short -range wireless communication.

Until now, these sensors were about one box for moving cardboard.When observing in the mountains, he broke it on his back (lodged ladder) and carried it.This small observation sensor also made his debut in this demonstration experiment.

The weather forecast can be derived in simulation, but it is said that the accuracy of the calculation will be improved by comparing it with the numbers obtained on site.To fly drones safely in the mountains, you need such a high -definition meteorological observation system.

And finally the drone is take off!After that, check it on the monitor.Not only stationary displays but also tablets can be checked.By the way, you can also enter the drone navigation plan with a tablet.

Video from the camera mounted on the drone.The lower right is the current location of the drone on the map.The upper left is displayed in the upper left of the altitude, latitude and longitude, and the route based on the entered flight plan, where you are currently, and how far the next point is.

Here is the appearance from the drone.

You can see the ground surface very clearly.The altitude is about 50m.

Saving according to the route set in advance ...?

a!There is something!No, someone is there!

Discovered people!It has been about 2 minutes and 40 seconds from the start of navigation so far.

The upper right figure is taken with a different aircraft from the one used in this demonstration experiment, but when the fog is deep, you can search using another aircraft equipped with an infrared camera.On the right is an image with infrared light.

In this way, the actual victims are relayed and recorded in real time, and the drone returns to the base.

"Mountain rescue drones" cannot actually carry people by drone.However, it is very important to see the actual victims.Details will be described later.

So how was a mountain rescue drone born?Let's talk to the people involved in this demonstration experiment with the aim.

We talked to Assistant Professor Izumidake in Tokyo, Tokyo, who witnessed the experiment.Izumi -sensei has been using drones as equipment for nearly 10 years while studying geography at university.He also has the face of a technical advisor of the Japan Mountain Relief Corps, and has actually used drones at an altitude of 5,500m during the 2015 Himalayan earthquake.

"When rescue in the mountains, the first important thing is where you are in distress. Even if you can know the distress in the GPS, it is very important to actually know the condition of the rescuer in advance.That's right. Helicopters are vulnerable to bad weather, and when people go to a distressed point, 4-5 mountain professionals will take a day.

If it's a drone, you can go in a few minutes to tens of minutes.In the case of a slide accident, there are many cases where they have died at that time.It is very important to be able to confirm in advance in the video to see if the rescuer is alive. "

In the mountains, accidents of rescue helicopters are frequent.If you have completely confirmed that a distressed person has already died, you will not have the option of taking risks and rushing to the site.

"Drones are not easy to operate in the mountains. The airflow is very disturbed in the mountains, so even if you raise it only a few meters, the drone may be turned upside down. Of course, not only the weather is accurately observed.It is also necessary for the equipment for that. "

It was such a challenge that three companies, KDDI, YAMAP, and Weather News, faced each other.What kind of thought and aim were each?

This is the KDDI team involved in this experiment.Tomoaki Matsuki (the second from the left) of the product and CS General Headquarters says.

"Drones can move quickly to places where people can not go and look down from the sky. It is suitable for finding people who have been distressed on the mountains, so someday a rescue support system like this with a smart drone.I wanted to realize it. "

In the process of proceeding with this experiment, I have been told by a person who is actually involved in rescue.

"I was told," If a drone shoots the situation of the distressed site, the rescue policy will be clear and it will be very helpful as a site. "I was a little relieved. At the same time, I renewed my thoughts that I had to create a really useful system on site. "

Matsuki himself belongs to the Wonder Fogel Club in college.He knew the fear of the mountains and the difficulties of searching and rescue of the victims.

"However, KDDI is not a mountain professional or a weather professional. We would like to help each professional and continue to realize the mountain rescue support system."

Mr. Tadashi Harayama, the sales manager of the Yamap Tokyo Branch Sales Division, which offers a mountain climbing app YAMAP, which is currently over 1.07 million downloads, was also presented in this demonstration experiment.

"YAMAP recommends" interacting with nature ". We are developing apps so that you can work on the mountains more. Therefore, the concept is" safe and secure mountain climbing ". YAMAP user.As the number of people has increased, the information from the mountains in the mountains is getting richer and richer. "

He could not be launched in this demonstration experiment, but he is also preparing secret weapons for mountain rescue by smart drones in the future.

"It is a dedicated device that utilizes LPWA developed jointly with KDDI."

LPWA = Low Power Wide Area.It is a mechanism that can communicate over a wide area with a little power consumption, and is built into a small sensor.Although the capacity of the data that can be exchanged is small, even if the battery of the smartphone is cut, it can continue to transmit radio waves for a long time.It can be said that it is a perfect communication format for the victims to inform them of their whereabouts.

"We plan to develop a service next spring, so please look forward to it."

For many years, KDDI and Kiyoki Morita, an executive officer of Weather News, who have been involved in the development of a drone operation system.

"Today's demonstration experiment was very successful. In the first place, rain and wind are an inseparable element from drone operations, and we have been making a drone operation support system with KDDI.That's what it is. "

Currently, the weather predicted model used in the operation support system of the operation is simulated by inserting mountain high and low data.The company is conducting a demonstration experiment on how much the calculation and the actual weather are different.

"The technical difficulties are where the wind rises along the mountain skin. The wind is different from the land of the flat ground and the wind is different from the mountains, so we are observing that area. We have brought this time 10m.The simulation of wind -oriented and wind speed is technically “challenging”. We need to increase the accuracy while using it in conjunction with observations. ”

Inviting firefighters, Self -Defense Forces, and Gotemba City officials that actually carried out rescue activities, the demonstration experiment was a reasonable result.

The aim is the 2019 climbing season.Operation on Mt. Fuji.Assistant Professor Izumi, Tokyo, who was running around the site, said:

"Firefighting and police are not growing up on mountain rescue. On the other hand, the number of climbers has increased and accidents are increasing. On the other hand, the latest technology such as a mountain rescue system due to drones is properly on site.It would be ideal if the introduction would reduce the burden on the exhausted site a little. "

Finally, KDDI's Matsuki described the view.

"Currently, various experiments have been conducted in drones, but the biggest challenge is how far the mechanism that really helps can be used in the field for practical use is the biggest challenge. In that sense, drones that can fly stably in the mountains, victims.We believe that the development of apps that can grasp the position and the development of overtone weather for actual flight judgments has made it possible to make a framework for practical use.There are still many things to do, such as creating a system, but I think we can do it with our partner companies. "

Combining communication with various phases of life creates a big change.In addition to pursuing safety and security in mountain climbing, communication will be linked to lifestyles in more scenes in the future, and it will be fun and exciting.