Current Situation Surrounding Drones
What impact do drones have on society?
Innovative solutions are needed in this new age.The sky is becoming a place where new services and businesses are offered. New technologies and services are enriching people's lives, while new threats are emerging. In this "Dronized Society and the Future," we introduce specific measures, including changes in the drone-related circumstances and their impact on society.
By the way, application of drones has been rapidly growing in the last few years. I get the impression that various types of drones have been released and their functions have been improved dramatically.
Legislation has also been developed to expand the use of drones, too. The other day, I attended an academic conference and heard about the committee's progress, and the situation seems to be changing every day.
I heard that from December 2022, a new regulation to allow BVLOS autonomous drone flights in urban areas was launched here in Japan. Drones will be more commonly used in urban areas in the near future!
Drones offer many benefits in various industries
Examples of industries where the use of drones is expected to increase
Construction
Logistics
Disaster prevention &
emergency services
Security
Construction
Logistics
Disaster prevention &
emergency services
Security
Further application of drones is expected while establishment of laws and regulations are under progress.
Drones are already being used in various industries to support our daily lives, such as aerial photography, civil engineering surveys, performance flights at events, and delivery of goods to remote islands and mountainous areas. Permission of BVLOS autonomous drone operation is expected to encourage the use of drones in industry closely related to our daily lives, and to provide even more convenient services.
Drones have been used extensively in the past, but they're going to be more essential to our lives in the future! But while it's getting more convenient, there are likely things you'll need to watch out for.
The future of drones flying over our city is coming near! But in that case, It feels like an unexpected accident could happen... What are the possible risks?
The challenges by the increased use of drones may diverse. Then let's figure out the risks from use of drones ourselves!
What are the risks caused by drones?
Application of drones are growing rapidly in society. They are expected to bring various benefits to our daily lives. On the other hand, what are the risks of drones that we should be aware of? Let us consider this question, given the different cases.
There have been a number of incidents and accidents involving drones in the news recently. What are the possible risks associated with drones?
In addition to the inherent risks of the aircraft, we also have to consider the secondary risks that may be caused by drones. The drones themselves are small, but in some cases they could cause a lot of damage.
I see, we need to focus on the risks specific to drones. We need to take safety precautions in case the drone takes an unexpected turn, or falls during flight...
I agree. Moreover, if a drone is used for illegal purposes or suddenly drops, it could cause secondary or tertiary damage.
Emerging "good and bad" as expansion of drone use
In aerial photography and modeling industry, the applications of drones have expanded more than ever. Data collection for topographical mapping have become more sophisticated. In logistic industry, public-private joint projects and PoCs have been actively carried out, and supply of goods have actually been realized in hard-to-reach areas, such as mountainous terrains. Other than that, in agriculture and construction, drones are also widely used for security and disaster prevention, including extensive monitoring and inspection. On the other hand, while it offers many benefits in a wide range of industries, it also involves the risk of significant adverse effects on people and infrastructure, such as the intrusion of drones into important events, infrastructures, facilities and airports etc.
That's right! If an incident or accident occurred in a crowded environment or a highly confidential facility, that may lead to a big collateral damage!
In fact, various incidents and accidents have already occurred in the world. Shall we look at specific cases next?
What are the incidents and accidents caused by or related to drones?
What kind of incidents and accidents are actually happening? Let's take a look at trends in drone-related accidents and troubles occurred in Japan, and specific examples of incidents from around the world, which occurred while drone security is not sufficient.
The number of drone-related accidents reported to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Japan is tallied every year, and we can see that it is on the rise.
In Japan alone, accidents and troubles are increasing year by year! "The number of cases reported" means that there may still have cases that are not even reported.
Numbers of cases may increase even more in the future as the use of drones becomes more common. Pilots may cause trouble unintentionally due to ignorance or misunderstanding of the regulations...
It is a risk of causing accidents or troubles unintentionally. If such cases happen in critical infrastructures or densely populated areas, it could lead to serious damage.
In fact, many cases reported have happened in critical infrastructure and at events. Some of them had led to big impacts as drones are hard to find from distance and mitigate without preparaton.
Drone-related incidents that actually happened in the past
In Japan ...
April 2015, at Prime Minister's Office
A drone carrying a container of radioactive soil, operated by an environmental activist, landed on the roof of the Prime Minister's Office. This was one of the impetus for the development of drone legislation in Japan.
November 2019, at Kansai International Airport
Spotting of a flying object like a drone near the runway, all aircrafts takeoffs and landings were temporarily suspended. As a result, 19 arriving and 25 departing flights were forced to delay or change their destinations.
February 2021, in Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture
A helicopter was blocked by a drone during its firefighting activity at a forest fire site . As a result, firefighting efforts by the helicopter was suspended for a couple of hours.
In abroad...
August 2018, at La centrale nucléaire du Bugey (Bugey nuclear power plant)
Environmental activists flew drones to show the vulnerability of nuclear power plants against terrorism. The activists group stated that the drone hit the building of a pool next to nuclear reactor where spent nuclear fuel is stored.
September 2019, at oil processing facilities in Saudi
The oil processing facilities of Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, were hit by multiple drone attacks. The facility was forced to close for a period of time, resulting in reducing oil production and it severely impacted the global economy.
September 2020, at Manchester Airport
Shortly after taking off from Manchester airport, pilots in cockpit saw a drone fly really close to the aircraft. It was a potentially serious incident in which a drone may have collided with an aircraft during flight.
Many serious drone-accidents, with or without pilot's maliciousness
In addition to misuse in political protests, there have been numerous reports of serious accidents involving drones, regardless the operator is malicious or not. Even at airports in Japan, drone-alike objects are sometimes spotted close to runways and that result in suspension of take-offs and landings of all aircrafts for certain period of time. The impact of incidents and accidents that have actually occurred can be really significant. Deliberate misuse of drones targeting critical facilities and VIPs is also on the rise worldwide, and there is an urgent need to prepare for counter-drone measures.
I were not aware that such many cases have already occurred ... I would also like to summarize effective measures that can prevent such incidents and serious damage related to drones.
OK, so let's summarize what are the typical counter-drone systems?
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