[Special feature] "Drone operation advisor training" by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications for firefighters nationwide --Drone Journal

In October 2021, the "Drone Operation Advisor Training" was held by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications at the Fukushima Robot Test Field (RTF) in Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture. This training is part of the "Disaster Response Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operation Promotion Project" promoted by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and is a training for firefighters in a leadership position selected from firefighting headquarters nationwide.

The workshop, which was held for the first time in 2019, will conduct various flight training in an environment closer to the disaster site by utilizing the RTF simulation facility. The purpose is to certify the firefighters who have taken the course as "drone operation advisors" and to develop the contents of the course at each fire department, which will lead to the construction of an operation system and human resource development centered on the drone operation advisor.

According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, as of June 3rd year of Reiwa, there are 724 fire departments nationwide, of which 383 are using drones, and the number is increasing year by year. Each fire department has a track record of demonstrating the usefulness of drones mainly in fact-finding surveys and search activities at disaster sites, and the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is promoting the introduction of drones. In addition to the workshop, we have developed operational manuals such as "Guide for unmanned aerial vehicles in the field of firefighting and disaster prevention" to each firefighting headquarters, and we are also making efforts to provide drones to 20 firefighting headquarters in government-designated cities. It is said that the spread and utilization of drones in the field of firefighting and disaster prevention is gradually spreading. However, while the number of fire departments that introduce drones is approaching about half, operational aspects and human resource development are issues for each fire department, and the workshop will be an important initiative to resolve these issues.

The workshop is held every year by a private drone company as a training course, and the workshop held in October is led by JDRONE, whose main business is drone operation services and outsourced customization of aircraft, and the curriculum is It was devised together with the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

The contents of the flight training are 6 items: structural building, NIST, automatic navigation, long-distance non-visual inspection, search for rescuers, and night flight.

First of all, in the structural building, the test plant was regarded as a skyscraper where a fire broke out, and training was conducted to search for rescuers and fire sources left behind inside the building. The search uses an infrared camera mounted on the drone to search for a heat source around the building. In the case of a condominium fire, there are many cases where a visible light camera cannot be used due to smoke, and search demand for structural buildings using infrared cameras is high. In the flight training, the training is to actually place the target inside the building, shoot and return, and explain the precautions when flying around the building, the influence of gusts and radio wave interference, how to use the infrared camera, etc. bottom. Also, since the structural building uses an infrared camera, a relatively new DJI Matrice 300 RTK was prepared. The point of the workshop is to be able to touch these new models and have them give lectures on how to use the installed new technologies.

The second is NIST, which uses training equipment made by combining multiple buckets. This is to take a picture of the letters written inside the bucket, measure the time while earning points, and return. The bucket is attached at all angles, and in addition to flight maneuvering, camera maneuvering skills are required. In search activities, it is necessary to fly while looking at the aircraft and monitor to accurately capture the person requiring rescue. Furthermore, it is necessary to acquire advanced maneuvering skills such as flying while paying attention to surrounding obstacles. By scoring NIST, you can know the level of your own maneuvering skills, and there are some fire departments that have been introduced as daily training. Mr. Sakurai, an instructor, said, "In addition to acquiring maneuvering skills, this time we had multiple assistants around us to learn how to build a team structure between the driver and the assistants. This made it difficult to communicate in words. I was also able to focus on how to get around the support. "

The third is mapping training by automatic navigation assuming grasping the damage situation in the event of a disaster. Most of the operations at each fire department are by manual operation, and it is said that the use of automatic navigation is not progressing in firefighting and disaster prevention. According to a person in charge of the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Since the location and flight conditions of each disaster site are naturally different, it is often carried out by manual operation, and there are few fire departments that utilize automatic navigation. However, we have incorporated it into the curriculum to let people know that the automatic navigation function of drones can be effectively used at various disaster sites. " In automatic navigation, he created a flight plan, took a wide range of photographs, and gave a lecture on a series of operational methods such as returning home. In addition, the usefulness of the 3D model generated from the captured data was conveyed. The instructor said, "Before automatic navigation is safe and convenient, we first aimed to make firefighters aware of the fun of automatic navigation in order to raise interest."

The fourth long-distance non-visual flight is a training that assumes information gathering over a wide area such as a forest fire. In fact, in a wide range of disasters such as factory fires, it is the mainstream to grasp the damage caused by manned aircraft, but if you use a drone, you can quickly collect information from a low altitude to a wide range. In the training, he explained the points to shoot, the maneuvering method while the aircraft was invisible, the relationship with radio wave interruption and video transmission, the method of avoiding troubles, etc., and actually operated high altitude and non-visual flight.

The fifth is the search for rescuers using simulated facilities in the city. Assuming the rescue of the victims in the city, first check the position and state of the people requiring rescue with a drone. After that, training was conducted to grasp the damage situation of the entire city area, record the landslides, road collapse / flooding, obstacle situation, etc. on the map, and formulate a rescue plan such as which route to call for emergency vehicle support.

The sixth night flight is a training that relies on infrared camera images to conduct search activities, actually assigns personnel assuming rescuers on the premises of the RTF, and searches with a drone to convey it to other units. Was done. I learned how to inform the position more accurately and efficiently, and experienced maneuvering at night. Many people said that it was very difficult to see the aircraft at night and to grasp the direction and position while looking at the front LED, status LED, and monitor image.

Mr. Sakurai, who was in charge of the NIST instructor, said, "Although I am usually in charge of school training, the firefighters are very ambitious and take each know-how seriously. NIST is difficult, but very practicing. Many people said that it would be possible, and I think we were able to provide training that matched the demands, such as the fact that there was a fire department that had already been introduced. "