Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (Joint release) One remote pilot successfully operated 5 drones simultaneously at 4 locations nationwide

[Japan Airlines Co., Ltd.] (Joint release) One remote pilot
successfully operated 5 drones simultaneously at 4 locations nationwide ​
JAL Press release: November 15, 2024 (Joint release) One remote pilot successfully operated 5 drones simultaneously at 4 locations nationwide Verifying the effectiveness and issues of the flight management system and operational procedures, including irregular handling
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/30684/1132/30684-1132-cdd7043694f47f6103b6b5ceea7bae40-2144×404.png NEDO (National Research and Development Corporation New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization) KDDI Corporation Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. The New Energy and Industrial Technology
Development Organization (NEDO), KDDI Corporation (KDDI), and Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (JAL) will conduct research and development programs for one person from October 28 to 31, 2024. We successfully conducted a demonstration in which a remote pilot operated a total of five drones simultaneously at four locations across the country (hereinafter referred to as this demonstration). This demonstration is part of NEDO’s “Realization Project for Social Implementation of Next-Generation Aerial Mobility (ReAMo Project)”, “Development of elemental technology for aircraft and systems that realize one-to-many operation of drones” (hereinafter referred to as this project). It was carried out as part of In this demonstration, KDDI developed an operation management system that supports simultaneous operation of multiple aircraft, and JAL conducted risk assessments based on knowledge and technology related to aviation safety and formulated operational procedures. In particular, in order to prevent human errors, the flight management system has added voice notification and operation support functions when irregularities occur. As a result, one pilot operated a total of five aircraft safely and efficiently at four locations across the country with different operating
environments such as weather conditions, confirming the effectiveness of the flight management system and operating procedures. On the other hand, we also confirmed issues that could arise when irregularities such as aircraft or system malfunctions or changes in the operational environment occur at the same time, and we were able to obtain data that will contribute to improving future system functions and flight management quality. In the future, the role of pilots and the operation management system will change based on the further advancement (automation and autonomy) of aircraft and flight management systems. Therefore, the knowledge of this demonstration will be used to create a system for public-private initiatives related to the simultaneous operation of multiple aircraft. We will continue to use this information in design and contribute to the social implementation of drones.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/30684/1132/30684-1132-b2c3620a227ccd329bf6c4f5f49e5bc3-474×316.png Figure 1 Simultaneous operation of 5 aircraft by one operator 1. Background In order to solve various social issues in Japan, such as the 2024 logistics problem, labor shortages due to a decline in the working-age population, aging social infrastructure, and regional depopulation and aging, we will continue to implement further social implementation of drones. Commercialization is underway. To achieve this, in addition to establishing out-of-sight remote autonomous operation technology that requires accurate situational understanding and judgment (monitoring) based on limited information, simultaneous operation of multiple aircraft will contribute to further labor savings and efficiency. Advanced flight management is required. It is necessary to clarify the technical requirements and operational procedures related to the flight management system through risk assessment and reduction measures based on the assessment. Against this background, NEDO has been working on the following research and development items in this project*1 since fiscal 2022, with the aim of formulating operational requirements and developing an operation management system to realize the simultaneous operation of multiple drones. . 1.1 Consideration of system requirements and operational requirements for multi-to-many operations 2. Development of a traffic management system compatible with one-to-many operations 3. Obtaining permission and approval for flight demonstration 4. Flight
demonstration assuming simultaneous flight of multiple aircraft in multiple airspaces 5. Verification of business feasibility of one-to-many operations In this demonstration in 2024, the number of flight locations was expanded to four, and one operator operated remotely to achieve simultaneous operation of five aircraft at four locations.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/30684/1132/30684-1132-5c139fb31896e1f66b8f197aa802b0bb-649×261.png Demonstration scenario which is the premise of the system and operation procedures) 2. This result Remote autopiloting of drones requires advanced flight management, which involves monitoring the aircraft’s operational status and weather conditions in real time and detail through a monitor display, and adding manual operations as necessary. In this demonstration, we will promote system automation and information aggregation in the simultaneous operation of multiple aircraft (five aircraft in this demonstration), and establish a safety management system that clarifies the division of roles between the pilot and the system (man-machine interface). I built it. The flight management system has added a function that notifies pilots in an easy-to-understand manner through on-screen pop-ups and audio when irregularities occur, such as the unexpected approach of another aircraft or low battery power, and provides advice on how to deal with the situation. As a result, we verified that even if irregularities occur, operations can be completed safely with the support of the system and in accordance with the predetermined operation manual.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/30684/1132/30684-1132-3ccdc3cc46b63ff683bfdbd251777faa-592×355.png Figure 3 Flight management system compatible with simultaneous operation of multiple aircraft (situation at irregular times) Image
URL: https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/30684/1132/30684-1132-ba9220dd12f2bfac83f6f50535ba38a4-635×321.png Figure 4 Image of risk assessment and response procedures 3. Future plans Through this demonstration, NEDO, KDDI, and JAL confirmed the effectiveness and issues of the flight management system and operational procedures, including irregular handling. In the future systematic requirements definition, in addition to demonstration experiments, we will accumulate and verify data using virtual environments. The knowledge gained from this demonstration will also be used to design systems for simultaneous operation of multiple aircraft, contributing to the social implementation of drones. [Note] *1 This project Project name: Realization project for the social implementation of next-generation air mobility (ReAMo project) / Formulation of operational requirements and development of a traffic management system to realize simultaneous operation of multiple drones Project period: FY2022-FY2024 Business overview:
https://reamo.nedo.go.jp/introduction/introduction_1_1_4_1#al02 Demonstration results in 2023: KDDI and JAL successfully conduct demonstration test of simultaneous 1:3 drone operation using level 3.5 flight KDDI homepage:
https://newsroom.kddi.com/news/detail/kddi_nr-151_3418.html JAL homepage: https://press.jal.co.jp/ja/release/202406/008159.html