"I didn't think I could eat Haagen-Dazs ice cream on Sarushima." This is a drone delivery service provided from July to September 2019 on "Sarushima", a remote island in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, and is a word that users unexpectedly came up with. The service content at this time is that when a person who visits the barbecue area in Sarushima places an order with a dedicated app, the product will be delivered using a drone from Seiyu in Yokosuka City, which is about 1.5 km away from the sea. It usually takes about 30 minutes by boat from Seiyu to Sarushima, but delivery is completed in about 10 minutes with a drone. The shipping fee is 500 yen, but the price of the item is the same as at the store, and if you think that you can finish shopping for several people at the same time, you can get the money back in no time. For example, you don't have to give up when you "forgot!" The sauce of grilled meat required for barbecue, or you don't have to go to buy by liner for more than an hour round trip. If you can shop with a drone, you can eat ice cream that melts easily after eating on a remote island.
In fact, such drone demonstration experiments are attracting attention as a national initiative. Mr. Mukai says that the main reason for this is the "logistics crisis" that has become apparent for several years. "The online shopping market, which was about 7.8 trillion yen in 2010, has grown to about 19 trillion yen in 2019, about 2.4 times larger. On the other hand, it is unpopular due to the declining birthrate and aging population and the working environment. Since the shortage of drivers has become a problem, one survey points out that there will be a shortage of 240,000 delivery drivers in 2027. "(Rakuten Mukai)
In order to solve these problems, the national government has established the "Drone Logistics Business Model Study Group in Depopulated Areas, etc." of the Public-Private Council. In addition, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has created a roadmap at the "Public-Private Council for Environmental Improvement for Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles", a public-private council that discusses technological promotion and legal development that are indispensable for the smooth realization of drone logistics. In the 2020 edition of "Roadmap for the Industrial Revolution in the Sky 2020-Realization of Drones that Contribute to Solving Social Issues in Japan-", "Aiming for non-visual flight (level 4) in manned areas after 2022" ".
Now that the whole country is moving toward the use of drones, the logistics crisis is an issue that needs to be resolved for the growth of the online shopping business.
"I wanted to take advantage of innovations like drones to solve logistics crises. That's how the drone business was launched. The main goals are to avoid logistics crises and regional empowerment. And three missions. Is listed.
1. Providing new convenience that packages can be delivered to such places 2. Support for people with logistics difficulties (weak shopping) 3. Construction of logistics infrastructure in an emergency
As an online shopping company, we have set the goal of packaging logistics services that utilize drones and providing them to private companies and local governments. "
So what is the "logistics service that utilizes drones" that the company is challenging? Let's first look at the drone to use.
"Some people think that drones are" difficult to maneuver, "but the drone they are using is a fully autonomous flight type. If you press the flight start button, the drone will automatically fly the set flight route. In collaboration with manufacturers, we will make various improvements through demonstration experiments, and in the future, we aim to create a service that anyone can immediately fly a drone with the touch of a button. "
A state of flight on Sarushima. Currently, Rakuten is using a small machine with a maximum load capacity of 2 kg and a large machine with a maximum load capacity of 5 kg (photo courtesy of Rakuten).
"In order to fly fully autonomously, the delivery side must have a system that sets the flight route and gives the information to the drone. Also, the delivery side can easily order with a smartphone. An app is required. We at Rakuten also develop software and apps necessary for such drone delivery.
At the start of the service, it is assumed that the operator will arbitrarily set the landing point. Rakuten supports through remote meetings and remote control, and the operation status can be checked in real time on the Rakuten side as well. "
This is an overview of Rakuten's idea of a logistics service that utilizes drones. It is far less labor-intensive than traditional logistics, and you can carry your luggage anywhere there is a place where the drone can take off and land.
"On-demand delivery using drones will enable customers to pinpoint packages at the time and place they want. If the delivery time is as short as about 10 to 20 minutes, it is online these days. Considering that customers wait for the arrival of packages like delivery services, it is possible that the worry of redelivery will be greatly reduced. "(Same as above)
In addition to Sarushima in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, which was introduced at the beginning, the company has conducted demonstration experiments and service provision in 13 prefectures nationwide, assuming various usage scenarios. For example, in September 2020, an experiment was conducted to deliver goods to a mountain lodge in Hakuba Village, Nagano Prefecture.
Demonstration experiment in Hakuba Village (Photo courtesy of Rakuten)
The take-off point is "Sarukuraso" at the foot of the mountain, at an altitude of 1250m. The destination, "Hakuba Sanso," had an altitude of 2832m and an altitude difference of about 1600m, but we succeeded in drone delivery for the first time in Japan. It took about 7 hours for a person to climb a mountain and carry it, but in just 15 minutes we were able to deliver 5 kg of supplies.
Climbing route to Hakuba Sanso (Photo courtesy of Rakuten)
In February 2020, we conducted an experiment in Iwaizumi-cho, Shimohei-gun, Iwate Prefecture, with the aim of supporting the vulnerable shopping and putting it into practical use in emergencies such as disaster countermeasures. Although it is a depopulated area and an aging area, through experiments, it was found that a drone delivery service can be established in an area with similar problems.
"In some areas, we used the parking lot of the public hall as a place for takeoff and landing of the drone, but if we can use the field in front of the house, for example, the residents do not have to go to the public hall to pick up their luggage. We believe that if drones are used, elderly people will not have to worry about shopping. Also, the town was a region that was severely damaged by the heavy rain caused by the typhoon in 2016, but in the event of such a disaster But we aim to be able to deliver emergency supplies by drone. "
On the other hand, there are still issues because it is still a new technology and service. "The first issue is battery capacity and flight distance. With the current battery performance, with a load of about 5 kg, the flight distance is about 5 km one way. To play a part in logistics services, I want to fly 20 km one way. However, another issue is the reliability of the aircraft. Whether it is safe for drones to fly over people on a daily basis, like airplanes and helicopters. Of course, the reliability of the aircraft is increasing year by year. However, we still do not have the experimental verification data to meet the high safety level. Therefore, in the demonstration experiments so far, we flew over the sea, rivers, or mountainous areas where there are no people. If you have to cross the place where there are people, we take various measures such as preventing the invasion of third parties. In the future, even if the drone flies over people's lives, we can confirm the safety that it will never fall. Will also be important in expanding drone delivery services. If the aircraft becomes more reliable, it will be able to fly over people and homes like airplanes and helicopters.
As in the previous demonstration experiments, Rakuten has been conducting drone delivery demonstrations and services by limiting the range without flying over people. Steadily accumulating the success of these experiments may lead to the promotion of the evolution of the aircraft, such as the entry of other companies into the development of the aircraft. "
"In the future, we are aiming to implement the operation mechanism at a level that can be handled by people who can use personal computers and perform pre-operation inspections. However, in depopulated areas where the population is aging, we will still handle personal computers and drones. I think there are many people who are unfamiliar with it. For that reason, I think it is important to develop local human resources. If possible, it is ideal to have young people who are familiar with advanced technologies such as IoT take charge. Young people are depopulated areas. If you play an active role as a local human resource, the area may be revitalized and the number of immigrants to the area may increase. "
In this way, "a new logistics service using drones" has the potential for regional revitalization. The company has set a target for when the service will actually be launched by "2021". Rakuten is developing a solution called drone delivery in collaboration with each region, and commented, "I want to create a society where drones are flying as a matter of course."
In addition, the company is looking beyond that. "Usage like Sarushima has to consider various things such as law, but I think that it can be applied and diverted even in the Philippines, where there are many remote islands. In the world, remote islands and mountainous areas have poor transportation networks. There are many areas like this. "(Same as above)
In the near future, when the practical use of drones begins in various parts of the world, Mr. Mukai says, "First of all, I want to make it into a proper shape in Japan" for the vision of providing the company's solutions both domestically and internationally. It seems that it will not be long before we can benefit from this in various parts of Japan.