Soraiina and Toyota Tsusho confirm drone-AI bear patrol works in Kamisunagawa

The demonstration was commissioned under a Cabinet Office program for advanced services in special zones, and Toyota Tsusho served as the business operator while Soraiina handled the drone work. The background is that bears in Kamisunagawa and other Hokkaido municipalities have been appearing in residential areas, and because the same individual tends to move around and stay in the area for days, measures limited to responding right after a sighting have limits. Current patrols are mainly visual checks by municipal staff, which take many person-hours over wide areas and expose workers to bears in the early morning and evening.

Against that, the test flew level 3.5 patrol routes centered on past sighting locations, mainly in the early morning and evening. During the period, a bear was confirmed on Oct 6, and a special flight was made under Article 132-92 of the Civil Aeronautics Act, which allows drones to fly for search and rescue without waiting for permission when there is an urgent risk to life or property. The results showed that thermal sensors could spot bears and other animals in conditions where they are hard to see by eye, and that remote operations kept staff safe while achieving patrol effects.

The next step is to raise the accuracy of AI-based automatic detection and to hold talks on localizing the system so municipalities can keep operating it, along with preparing operation manuals that include emergency special flights. Whether the model can be sustained by local governments after the demonstration is likely to be a key point to watch.