Japan announces drone logistics grants
Of the five companies named in the grants, two are exploring the technology’s potential for medical deliveries and disaster response
Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has awarded grants worth a total of ¥98 million (US$659,180) to support the development of drone logistics across the country.
The grants are intended to promote “initiatives for … drone logistics in areas such as remote islands and mountainous areas where there is a shortage of logistics workers, and a decrease in logistics demand”.
Additionally, the purpose of the grants is to develop an alternative means of delivering supplies in the event of a disaster.
Of the five grant recipients – ANA Holdings, Nishikyudai Transportation and Warehouse, Nakatsu Express, Ryomo Maruzen, and HMK Nexus – two explicitly state that they plan to develop drone delivery networks for medical and other emergency mission types. ANA Holdings is developing drone use cases for the transportation of blood products, medicines, and for disaster response. Likewise, HMK Nexus’s end goal is to demonstrate use cases for drones “in peacetime and disaster situations”.
In Belgium, medical logistics drone trials have been ongoing in the country’s Kempen region.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at AirMed&Rescue. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.